Rage, Rage Against the Everlasting Party
by INSANITY - BRILLIANCE
Summary: A dark look into the Rest Theory: There are no happy endings, not when your every word, your every action, is dictated by a script that you can't control. How do you get off script? How do you stop the time-loops? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If a butterfly in South America can cause a tornado in Texas, maybe you can change things?
1. Day1: 000 HRS: Resets 0

"'Cause nothing good comes after midnight. Ain't no good love come from pain. Nothing good comes after midnight when you play the devil's game…"  
—Dorothy/ROCKISDEAD/ After Midnight

* * *

 **DAY 1|000 hrs|Resets: 0**

* * *

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

"Ugh –Stupid phone," you groaned and rolled over blindly reaching for the device. You didn't remember setting an alarm or maybe it was someone calling you…Aww, who cares? You didn't appreciate being woken up out of the dead of sleep. After a couple seconds of fumbling you removed your phone from the bedside table, pressing your thumb to the home button. The glow of the screen illuminated your face; momentarily blinding you.

"What time is it?" You muttered before seeing that it was little past midnight. What the hell? Your thumb slid over the screen pulling down the notifications bar. There sat one notification from an app called Mystic Messenger.

' _Mystic Messenger?'_ You thought. What was that? A messenger app?

 _{1 New Message from_ _ **Unknown**_ _: …Hello…?}_

Huh? You didn't know who Unknown was. It had to be someone's username, right? You tapped the notification and it pulled up this app that you didn't recognize. It looked like a chatroom, but also didn't. For one there was no textbox for you to type into, but there was also this strange green lettering in the background like it was lines and lines of computer code. Not that you knew that much about computers to make heads or tails of any of it. And that person, Unknown, was the only person there…

Perhaps they were just as confused?

Upon closer inspection, you noticed a little button at the bottom of the screen. The word ' _Answer '_ was helpfully printed and it was flashing on and off. Tapping button, another little button popped up.

 **[?]**

Okay…? So this was a little weird. Why was it a question mark? You tapped the button quickly.

* * *

 **MC:** ?

 **Unknown:** Can you see this?

* * *

You tapped the answer button again, but this time two buttons popped up instead of one.

 **[Who are you?]**

 **[Yes, I can.]**

You huffed reading the response. Well, of course, you could see it. You wouldn't have responded if you couldn't. Who the hell were they that they're messaging you at this hour?

* * *

 **MC:** Who are you?

 **Unknown:** I'm sure you're surprised. It's not every day you get a text from a stranger. I'm a bit flustered myself. I found a smartphone at the subway station, but all it had was this messenger app. I want to find the owner, but I don't see any contact info or call records…

* * *

You didn't see how any of that was your problem. People lose their phones all the time…but you guessed it was nice that they were trying to return it. It didn't explain why they were messaging you at midnight though.

* * *

 **Unknown:** I've been sending messages with this app but no reply…

 **Unknown:** All I see is an address and some important-looking numbers saved in the notes. I'd like to go there myself but I'm currently abroad…

* * *

And what? This random person just wants you to go to some address? Nuhuh, not gonna happen. Nope. No siree. You weren't an idiot and who knows who this person is. They haven't even told you their name yet.

 **[First…who are you?]**

 **[An address?]**

 **[I thought this app was for chatting with pretty boys?]**

The last option had you scratching your head. But you quickly shrugged it off and tapped the first button.

* * *

 **MC:** First…who are you?

 **Unknown:** Me? Oh sorry. I didn't even introduce myself. I'm just…a student studying abroad. I'm Korean.

 **Unknown:** I could tell you my name, but it doesn't really matter. You won't find me on any search engines. ^^;

* * *

You could smell bullshit. This whole thing stank to high heaven with it. A student? Yeah-fucking-right. Please note guy, that if you want to sound convincing in writing don't put ellipses in the middle of a sentence.

* * *

 **Unknown:** But, anyways…Can you help me find the owner of this phone?

* * *

No. No. A million times no. N-O.

* * *

 **Unknown:** I know you're surprised to have someone suddenly pop up and ask you a favor like this.

* * *

Hell yeah, you're surprised. This asshole woke you up. And admittedly you were still fairly cross about it.

* * *

 **Unknown:** But still… I'd appreciate it if you could help.

* * *

The answer button flashed at the bottom.

 **[How can I help you?]**

 **[Why are you so obsessed with finding the owner? You can just give it to the police or the post office.]**

 **[Why should I help you?]**

 **[Uh…Why are you talking to me as if I'm your friend?]**

 _Seriously?_ Why was it only these options? Why couldn't you just flat out tell him no? You were getting a little frustrated now. But you thought that you could at least take the high road and be less hostile toward the guy.

* * *

 **MC:** Why are you so obsessed with finding the owner? You can just give it to the police or the post office.

 **Unknown:** Well…Normal people wouldn't be able to understand…

* * *

"Oh really?" you mumble a feeling of irritation bubbling up inside you. So much for taking the high road if this guy was going to be an ass about it.

* * *

 **Unknown:** To be honest, I have a religion. My religion says that you must not miss any opportunity to do good, no matter how small.

 **Unknown:** Well, some say that it's just being nosy. But I'm not like normal people. I can't help but thinking about how stressed the owner might be…

 **Unknown:** It's a really safe place. If you feel unsafe, you can turn around.

 **Unknown:** I know the area. It's developed.

 **Unknown:** Please?

* * *

 **[No. You're creepy.]**

 **[Fine…I'm leaving right away if it feels sketchy.]**

Major creep vibes. Like no joke. Something in your gut was telling you not to trust this guy. There was just something so off about this whole situation. You didn't quite know what it was. But you felt tingly, twitchy almost, like somehow somewhere this creep was watching you. Who knows, maybe he was?

* * *

 **MC:** No. You're creepy.

 **Unknown:** Creepy?... ^^;;

 **Unknown:** I'm not a creep.

 **Unknown:** Haven't you ever heard of the saying 'you get a treat if you listen to older men'…?

* * *

And how is that not creepy? Nope. This guy was setting off most, if not all, of your warning bells.

 **[No;;]**

 **[I'll listen to you.]**

Again why are there only these choices?!

* * *

 **MC:** No;;

 **Unknown:** Sorry. I was just kidding ^^;;;

 **Unknown:** Anyways… I know I'm asking too much. You might think I'm odd.

* * *

Odd wasn't the word you'd use to describe him.

* * *

 **Unknown:** …I am a bit odd to be honest.

 **Unknown:** But would you consider it? I'm talking to you right now. Two complete strangers at two completely different places… It's a miracle we've connected.

* * *

No that's called the internet.

* * *

 **Unknown:** No one responded to my messages. You're the first one.

 **Unknown:** I don't know how we got connected…

 **Unknown:** But maybe this was meant to be?

* * *

If you're being perfectly honest, you weren't someone who bought into all of that density crap. Fate, luck, a life plan mapped out by the universe… All of that was total hogwash. Didn't it make more sense if a person can write their own future? You believed in the power of choice. And it was your choices that made your future not fate.

* * *

 **Unknown:** That is me in the photo. _Click Photo_

 **Unknown:** Maybe this will make you less suspicious…?

 **Unknown:** I'm returning to Korea soon, so I'll definitely make it up to you.

 **Unknown:** If you feel unsafe near the place, you can just delete the app.

 **Unknown:** Please, I'm begging you.

* * *

There was no telling whether or not that was actually him. You knew how easy it was to pull some random photo off the internet. You had read news stories about this. You had listened to that beware-of-strangers speech from your parents. You had sat through all those videos about internet safety that your grade school teacher had shown you. And there wasn't a doubt in your mind that you would still choose NO.

 **[Alright… I'm returning asap if something seems strange.]**

Wait… No that's not what you want to say. Why is there only that option? What happened to your choice?

* * *

 **Unknown:** Thank you!

* * *

You watched on helplessly as Unknown typed back. This wasn't what you wanted.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Then I'll send you the address.

* * *

' _No.'_

* * *

 **Unknown:** Now how do I do that…

* * *

' _I'm not gonna go.'_

* * *

 **Unknown:** Found it!

* * *

"Don't send me the address dude!" You yelled tapping furious at your screen, hoping against hope that the app will malfunction so you don't get that address.

* * *

 **Unknown:** [Address {(South Korea)Seoul-Gangnam, Gangnam-daero-5-gil, 14-dong 5-ho, 30174}

* * *

"I told you not too! Holy-filet-of-fuck-meon…" You paused and scanned over the address again. Korea? It was an address in freaking South Korea?! But you weren't in Korea. You had never even been to Korea. What the hell is going on?

You wasted no time sitting up and flicking on the light. You winced at the harsh change in the room, taking a moment for your eyes to adjust. Then looking around your stomach dropped. You were sleeping on a pull-out futon in a small studio apartment. The room itself was fairly spacious for how small it was. A small fold-out table and chairs were set up by the large windows in the corner of the room there was a skinny shelf with some books and a couple framed photographs overhead. The kitchen was minimalistic with barely any counter space or cupboards. It was a cute place, but it felt empty, blank. And worse yet you had no memory of this place.

You practically leaped off that futon and ran over to the windows and throwing open the thick drapes. "N-no way…" your voice squeaked at the sight. A giant glowing billboard was just outside your window; a neon eyesore blocking the city landscape. Bold Korean lettering was printed across it, an advertisement for some tech company it read. How you could read it was a mystery.

"This can't be happening…this isn't happening. I'm still dreaming," you stumbled away from the window and back over to the futon. "This isn't real…" Your phone was a heavy presence sitting beside you, the screen still illuminated with those messages from Unknown.

This couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

Your throat felt parched and your mouth was dry. That gut feeling you were feeling before had intensified and you were finding it difficult to catch your breath. Is this a panic attack? You couldn't remember ever having a panic attack before… "W-water. I-I need water," you said.

Stumbling, you managed to make it over to the small kitchen sink and fumble through the cupboards until you found the glasses. You wasted no time in filling it up, not caring whether or not the water was filtered, and with shaking hands, you gulped down the contents. Admittedly, you drank too quickly because no more than three seconds later you were coughing and spitting up water into the sink.

Well, that was a brilliant idea…

Bent over like you were your face was close to the metal surface of the sink; you were impressed by how clean it actually was. The still open drapes allowed for the light from the neon billboard to flood the tiny kitchen and combined with the lamp you had flicked on, it allowed for enough light that you could easily make out your reflection on the metal… Wait, was that your reflection?

As if you hadn't had enough surprises already, the universe decides to throw you one more. You could just picture some smug little cherub pushing up their imaginary glasses and laughing jovially. "Surprises?" They would say, "You want surprises? Okay… _poof!_ Not your face!" You didn't know whether you felt like laughing or crying, nonetheless, you were one hundred percent sure that the person staring back at you wasn't you.

The girl, woman actually, was obviously Korean, her monolid eyes were enough indication of her Asian heritage. She had a kind looking face –you might even consider it pretty. Prominent cheekbones and heart-shaped face were something you had remembered were idealized in celebrity magazines and from what you could tell her face, your face now was very clear. There wasn't a single pimple in sight…how the fuck was that possible? What was her skincare routine? Did she do facial masks? With how soft your cheek felt you didn't doubt it. If there was one thing, though, that you found unattractive about this face it was the nose. A short stubby little thing, protruding out slightly under the eyes, it was far too short for her long face and gave her almost a chipmunk-like appearance.

Long auburn colored hair fell down your shoulders and bushed against the counter as you leaned back away from the sink. "Okay…okay…calm down," you whispered to yourself, "Getting worked up isn't going to solve anything."

You took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then you attempted to sort out everything that had happened in the last couple minutes.

You're in Korea. In a strange apartment with no memory of how you got there or who you are.

You're not you. You can't exactly remember who you were, but you know that you're not in your body.

You have some creeper trying to send you to an address that may or may not be a ploy for a sex trafficking ring. Said creeper is currently waiting for you to go said address and you have little doubt that he is somehow watching you.

There's this weird messenger app on your phone that doesn't allow you to type out responses but gives you preprogrammed textboxes.

What to do? Should you go to the apartment? You still thought the whole thing was a bad idea. What if something bad happens? What if this creeper tries to do something to you? …On the other hand, what if he somehow knows about your situation? What if he can give you answers to what was happening to you? It couldn't just be a coincidence that he picked you, right? But were you willing to risk putting yourself in a stupidly dangerous situation just to get answers?

"Argh!" You yelled gripping your hair between your fingers. Why was this so hard?! You couldn't just stand here and wait for Unknown to come looking for you. No that was a worse idea. You couldn't stay in your apartment much longer; you had to act now… "Alright, fuck it!"

Whatever happens, happens. You needed answers and right now your only option was to go to the address Unknown had sent you. Scrounging around your apartment, you managed to find jeans, a pair of socks, shoes and a warm hoodie to change into. You left on your oversized sleep shirt figuring you'd avoid the hassle of putting on a bra, besides the hoodie was thick enough that no one would notice.

Your phone still sat on the bed where you left it; the address link still the last message in the chatroom. Unknown hadn't texted you again. Good. There was a brief second of hesitation before you tapped the chatbox with the address, a second where you asked yourself if you were ready for whatever was going to happen. Of course, you couldn't have known at the time what would happen, but you figured yourself ready for anything. "Let's do this."

 **[Go to address.]**

There was really no way you could have prepared yourself for what happened after you tapped that button. It was unbelievable, paranormal, and defied the laws of physics. One second you're standing in your apartment, then the next you were in a long hallway staring at a fancy door with a key code and no memory of how you got there.

"What the fuck?!" You exclaimed stumbling back from the door and turning on your heels. "How? What?"

You took notice of the elevator and stairwell near you and seriously considered hightailing it the hell out of there. This was too much. Getting answers wasn't worth this _Twilight Zone_ shit! Although you stopped in your tracks…What about Unknown? You had forgotten that you were probably being followed and while the elevator was right there, who's to say that he wasn't waiting for you somewhere?

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

 _{1 New Message from_ _ **Unknown**_ _: Are you there? ^^ See nothing strange.}_

The notification on your phone filled you with dread. Nothing strange? Was he serious?! This whole situation was strange!

* * *

 **Unknown:** Is there a password lock on the door?

* * *

You shot a weary look at the door behind you. There was a password lock on the door, albeit you didn't remember him saying anything about a key code in the previous messages…so how would he know? It only confirmed what you had suspected. You were being watched.

' _Play along,'_ you told yourself. Walking back to the door, you placed yourself so that your back was to the elevator and tapped the answer button.

 **[Yes.]**

 **[Hmm. I don't see one.]**

You had a bad feeling about the first option. You considered why this person wants you to come here if they're the ones with the phone. And you came to the conclusion that he wanted you to enter the apartment. Why? Who cares. You weren't going to.

* * *

 **MC:** Hmm. I don't see one.

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** There's really nothing?

 **Unknown:** There's nothing to put in the password?

* * *

He knew you were lying. And you knew that he knew that.

 **[There's nothing.]**

 **[Jk. It's here.]**

You were given an out. You could easily fix this with a tap of a thumb and a part of you seriously considered it. You knew that if you choose the first option it would only anger him, which in turn would jeopardize your safety. Although, wasn't your safety already jeopardized? From the first message any safety you had was thrown out the window.

* * *

 **MC:** There's nothing.

 **Unknown:** …

 **Unknown:** You sure?

* * *

This guy was being pretty lenient with you. You would've thought he'd had shown himself by now. He must really want you to go inside that apartment.

 **[Jk. It's here.]**

 **[It's not here.]**

Another out? Hmm…

* * *

 **MC:** It's not here.

* * *

Welp, there it goes. You signed your fate with that last option and you didn't expect him to give you any more chances.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Really?

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** I can see with my own eyes that…

 **Unknown:** You are standing in front of a password door lock.

 **Unknown:** Are you gonna continue lying?

* * *

 **[What? You can see me?]**

* * *

 **Unknown:** Haha…Yes.

 **Unknown:** I guess that's it then.

 **Unknown:** Plan failed.

* * *

You spun around on at the sound of footsteps and that's when you saw him stepping out from the stairwell. Unknown looked nothing like his picture. You didn't expect him to, however, he looked so drastically different that it threw you for a loop. He resembled one of those punk-rocker, gothic, emo teens that were always posting pictures on Instagram. His thick curly hair was dyed white and the strands would periodically catch the light taking on a more pinkish hue. Gaunt cheekbones and dark circles under his eyes lead you to believe that he wasn't wholly healthy, and yet the way he carried himself felt more like a prowling lion than the lanky man he was. Greenish-blue eyes sparked dangerously over the black mask covering the lower part of his face.

You took a step back bumping into the door behind you. "Who the fuck are you?!" You yelled.

Unknown's voice came out distorted, muffled from his mask and oddly off pitch like it was being projected out of a broken speaker. "The plan failed. I'll have to find someone else."

"What plan?" You asked. "What are you talking about?"

He didn't respond to your question. In fact, it was like he didn't even hear you. "Hello? I'm asking you a question! Are you just going to ignore me?" But Unknown continued to look at your face, saying not a word or giving any indication that he understood that you were speaking. The man was just standing there staring at you…No. He wasn't staring at you, he was staring through you, you realized. You stepped forward slowly, keeping your eyes trained on his face, preparing yourself in case he pounced.

You walked forward until you were within arm's reach of the man and stopped.

"Umm… _hello?_ " You repeated hesitantly.

Nothing. No response. Unknown just continued to stare at the spot that you no longer were.

It was beyond strange. This whole night's been just one freaky thing after another, but this… You didn't know what to make of this. You brought your hand up and waved it in front of his eyes, even going so far as to snap your fingers a couple times by his ear. Nothing. He didn't even blink.

' _Okay then…'_

He was totally unresponsive. A lifeless wax figure. An animatronic that was just as fake as his voice sounded… This had to be a dream. There was no way this could be real, that this was happening. No. You were just dreaming. You had to be dreaming.

Your phone was still grasped firmly in your hand; the Mystic Messenger app still running on the screen. One quick glance confirmed this, but it also confirmed something else –Something that you had begun to have an inkling of since that first text box, something that you were hoping, praying, wasn't true.

 **[Who the hell are you?!]**

 **[This is creepy! I'm getting out of here.]**

Two choices on the screen, but you weren't in the chatroom. The textboxes looked different too; a gray background with gold lining, swirling around each option. This isn't right. You wanted to drop your phone on the ground and leave, but there was something stopping you. And it wasn't Unknown. Hell, that guy you could just walk past and he would be none the wiser. No, what was stopping you was the thought that entire world could be frozen along with him. What if you walked outside and the cars, the people, even the animals were just there, unmoving, frozen in whatever act they were in, and you were the only one that could walk and talk? The thought was too horrifying to even think about. If choosing one of these text options would restart everything, if it would make this guy move again, then maybe you could get out of there without having to choose again.

"This is creepy! I'm getting out of here."

The words flew out of your mouth against your own violation. They were a combination of surprise and anger, something that you weren't even close to feeling. But it worked. Unknown blinked, looking at you, actually looking at you this time. His eyes squinted at you as he hummed, inquisitively.

"That's feisty," he remarked. Then his eyes smiled, "I'd like to let you go, but you already know me. Sorry, but you'll have to come with me." He reached out a hand to grab your wrist, but you anticipated this and took a quick step back.

"No. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're going to explain some things to me, okay? What the fuck is going on? Why am I here?" You said.

"…I could just get rid of you…but that'd be a shame." Unknown continued ignoring your question, or not ignoring it he just didn't hear you speak, "You're so cute."

"What...?"

"You can be my assistant," he mused, " _Right…He said he has an assistant. I'd like one too._ " The last part was spoken more to himself than it was to you.

You took another step back. "Look, dude. I'm not gonna be your assistant."

Still, Unknown didn't even acknowledge that you had spoken. And you knew –you knew that he couldn't hear you. You were just screaming at a wall. "Should I use… you?"

Your throat began to close up as you struggled with the revelation; torrents of various emotions flooding your mind, making it difficult to breathe. He can't hear you. He can't see you. You're alone. Alone. Alone. Alone…

"Come here," he said reaching out his hand to you again.

Your voice cracked horribly, "N-no…"

"I'll be good to you," he assured you. He almost sounded gentle and for a brief second, you saw a flicker of something human in him. "Come with me."

 **[Okay.]**

 **[No…]**

The two choices glowed on the screen. The first one wasn't an option for you. You were still holding onto the hope that you would be able to get away if only you could figure out how to do so without freezing the world again.

"No…"

Unknown paused, anger flickering quickly through his eyes, and then smiled again. "Nonsense," he said, "If you don't come with me, I'll have to find a way to destroy the information you know. But you're not a computer so I can't just delete you…"

He took another step toward you and again you shook your head. "No."

Unknown's eyes narrowed. You could tell he was getting annoyed with you now. He didn't try to hide it, his voice taking on a harder edge. "Well, you never had a choice anyways. _**Now let's go**_."

It wasn't a request, but you refused to believe that this was your only option. There was always a choice. Your gripped tightened around the phone in your hand. If only you could make it to the stairwell, maybe you could get away. But you needed a distraction. You didn't have much time, each second your chances of escaping decreased and Unknown continued to move toward you. You were trapped, boxed into a corner and like any animal backed into a dead-end your survival instincts kicked into overdrive.

He seemed to sense you were about to flee. His eyes softened and he attempted to coax you toward him. "I'll be nice," he said. "I'm a much better person than him." He stretched out his hand again, waiting for you to take it.

That's when you saw your window.

With your phone still gripped tightly in your hand, you took one step toward him. Then another and another; until you were within arms-reach again. You had to keep your expression perfectly neutral or he would've caught onto what you were about to do. Movingly slowly, you brought your hand forward, the hand that was gripping your phone, and moved as if you were handing over the device. Your mind was running at about Mach 20, adrenaline flooding your bloodstream, time seemed to slow in that moment. You saw Unknown's eyes crinkle up as he smiled, you saw the flicker of the light reflecting off the surface of the phone as you threw the device at him, how his hair swayed as he dodged the projectile, the surprise in his eyes as you lunged forward slamming your knee into his gut. Then as suddenly as the world slowed, everything started to speed up exponentially.

"Ugh." Unknown fell forward clutching his gut. You darted past him to the stairwell. "Fuck." You heard him swear as you sprinted down those first couple steps. He had already gotten up, you realized, and that attack was only enough to stun him and you knew he was already hurrying after you.

One foot after another. Heart pounding in your ears. Your breath was coming in quick heavy pants. You felt him gaining on you. _Faster. Faster. Go. Go. Go._

"H-help. Someone HELP ME! HEL–" You didn't even realize you were screaming until you felt a firm tug at the material of your hoodie, strong enough to stop you mid-step and pull you back. "NO! I'M NOT GOING!" You yelled swing your fist toward Unknown and stepping closer to the edge. One second, one mistake and your world was tilting; falling off its axis. You felt yourself falling backward, slipping off that step, Unknown reached out to grab you. The panicked look on his face struck you with horrific implications and you fell hard.

 _[Reset?_ _Y/N]_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Unfortunately, ffnet is not compatible with the CGs so I had to leave them out of this fic. However, if you guys want to read the fic with the CGs you can head over to my account on AO3. J_L_Hynde and this chapter has been posted along w/ chapters 2 & 3\. I'll try to get chapters 2 & 3 posted on this site later today. I'd do it right now, but it's late and I need to go to sleep.

As always constructive criticism is encouraged. Please leave any thoughts you may have in the reviews. And I'll see ya guys next time.


	2. Day 1: 000 HRS : Resets 1

" _...When it's over somehow. I can't believe it now. When it's over somehow. I can't believe it now, how long it was… If you were dreaming you know, you know, how long the night was…"_

-Deadboy & The Elephantmen|We Are Night Sky|How Long the Night Was

* * *

 **DAY 1|000 HRS|RESETS: 1**

* * *

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Your ears picked up on the familiar sound and your eyes flew open. You saw the screen of your phone light up briefly before it flickered back to black. There was a sense of deja vu and you sat up slowly, looking around at the darkened room. Various dark shapes and shadows gave away no sense of alarm; and yet you felt that something was off. It was like a gnawing feeling like someone was dragging their fingernails along the lining of your stomach. You felt foggy too; like your head was filled up with hot air, the pressure increasing until it was impossible to make out any sound besides that small ringing in your ears. And it wasn't just your head, you realized as you began to move your legs, your body ached too. But it wasn't an ache because you were physically hurt, instead, it seemed to be an illusion, a muscle memory, of some former pain that you had experienced, but you were unable to recall when and how it had happened. An older injury flaring up maybe.

Or perhaps it was something else? Maybe it had more to do with your strange dream than anything that had actually happened to you. A dream that was already fading from your memory. Even now, you could only recall vague details. Sharp blue eyes, a short stubby nose, neon lights flickering… These were all just snippets, some pieces to a much bigger and grandiose puzzle that you were inept to complete.

Although there was one thing that you stood out in your mind, no matter how much you tried to tell yourself otherwise, you knew with unshakeable certainty that in your dream you had died. How did you know it? You weren't quite sure. But there was just something profound about it, transcendent almost, and still, you couldn't pinpoint what it was.

It perplexed you. And the more you thought about it, the more you seemed to not have any answers. You sighed. Then climbing off the bed you stumbled through the dark and into the small bathroom not too far from your bed. Your eyes had to adjust to the harsh change in lighting and you stumbled over to the toilet, undoing the tie holding up your sleep shorts, and letting them drop your ankles as you sat on the cool porcelain.

Relieving yourself, you continued to ponder your dream and why the back of your head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Still nothing. You let out a groan of frustration as you grabbed a handful of toilet paper and clean yourself before standing, pulling up your shorts, and flushing the waste. You padded over to the tiny sink and began to wash your hands, not yet noticing the oh so familiar face in the reflection of the overhead medicine cabinet.

You filled your hands with water and splashed your face. It woke you up, cooling your face, and easing the ache in the back of your head. You reached over and slipped the hand towel off of the metal ring and brought the cloth up to dry your face. And it was as you were doing this that your eyes finally flickered to the mirror and the Asian eyes staring back at you.

"Oh, god…" You breathed and the towel slipped from your hands, falling limply into the sink. But you barely noticed that. You were too preoccupied staring at the reflection. "...oh god…" It wasn't a dream. _It wasn't a dream._

You stumbled back, tripping over your own feet and landing on your butt. Everything was flooding back to you. The messages, the textboxes, Unknown, the stairs… "No. This is...no…" Bile churned in your stomach and threatened to climb upwards, but you fought it back down. You remembered Unknown's face as he reached for you, how scared he looked, and you remember how in that moment how you tried to reach out toward him. _Too little too late._ You had tumbled down those stairs, breaking, shattering with each step until your head cracked open on the stone landing. It hurt. It hurt to remember.

The pain in your head flared up causing you curl into yourself. "This can't be happening." Except it was. Everything was real and no amount of denials or spoken mantras was going to change that.

You didn't know how long you stayed there. How long you were curled up in the fetal position on the floor. How long you laid there crying. But when you finally managed to calm yourself, you remembered the phone you left on the end table. You didn't have the strength to walk, but you managed to drag yourself from the bathroom to the futon. Your hands shook as you took the phone off the charger, and admittedly you dropped it on the carpeted floor at least twice before you were able to turn the damned thing on.

You wished you hadn't.

 _{ 1 New Message from_ _ **Unknown**_ _: … Hello…?}_

The notification sat there, glowing in the darkness, as innocently as it did the last time. However, unlike last time, this notification filled you with a sense of abject horror because you knew without a shadow of a doubt What, or more Who was at the other side of that message. You stared at the screen for several minutes as you attempted, _**attempted**_ , to sort out what the fuck was happening.

It seemed, at least to your muddled brain, that time had somehow rewound itself. Like somehow, somewhere, someone had just flipped the proverbial hourglass and set everything back an hour or two. But that was impossible, right? There's no way that something like that, something like you were experiencing could take place outside of a science fiction movie. And if that's the case, then what should you make of the last time? Was it just a vivid dream or could it have been a premonition of something that had yet to take place? You didn't think you believed in things like that. And yet what else could it have been, if not a precursor to something, a warning of some greater peril you needed to evade?

You intended to ignore the message. That would've been the smart thing to do. You did not, under any circumstances, want to return to that apartment. You did not want to meet Unknown again. Yet still some small part of you, a part that was buried beneath layers of fear and confusion, was curious. And each second that curiousness grew.

' _What if…'_ you thought. What would happened if you changed your choices? What would happen if instead of fighting Unknown, you agreed to go with him? Would you be able to get answers then? Surely, he must know something.

It was a crazy thought. Totally and wholly insane. But it's the thought that spurred you forward. You had to check. You unlocked the phone and tapped the notification. It pulled up the same strange chatroom and the same 'answer' box.

* * *

 **Unknown:** ...Hello…?

 **MC:** ?

 **Unknown:** Can you see this?

* * *

 **[Who are you?]**

 **[Yes, I can.]**

The two text options filled your vision. Last time, you had picked the first one. So this time you thought what would happen if you chose the second?

* * *

 **MC:** Yes, I can.

 **Unknown:** ...Finally connected. Thank god.

 **Unknown:** _**It's not everyday you get a text from a stranger.**_

* * *

' _Stranger?'_ You would've laughed if you weren't still recovering from your panic attack.

* * *

 **Unknown:** I'm a bit flustered myself. I found a smartphone at the subway station, but all it had was this messenger app.

 **Unknown:** I want to find the owner, but I don't see any contact info or call records…

 **Unknown:** I've been sending messages with this app but no reply…

 **Unknown:** All I see is an address and some important-looking numbers saved in the notes.

 **Unknown:** I'd like to go there myself but I'm currently abroad…

* * *

It sounded so rehearsed. It was funny how you were reading everything under a different light. Your eyes had been pried open and you saw the subtle warning signs you had missed before. Really what kind of phone doesn't have any call records? It's laughable that you didn't find that strange the first time around.

 **[An Address?]**

 **[I thought this app was for chatting with pretty boys?]**

 **[First...who are you?]**

That second option still confused you. What app? Like really, was this chatroom like some kind of dating program? It didn't make any sense, but it still felt like that textbox was a clue to what was happening.

* * *

 **MC:** An address?

 **Unknown:** Yes. There's a Korean address and a long number. I think it's a password.

 **Unknown:** Do you mind going to the address?

 **Unknown:** That's all that's saved in this phone.

 **Unknown:** I know you're surprised to have someone suddenly pop up and ask you a favor like this.

* * *

Not really.

* * *

 **Unknown:** But still…

 **Unknown:** _**I'd appreciate it if you could help.**_

* * *

 **[Why are you so obsessed with finding the owner? You can just give it to the police or the post office.]**

 **[Uh… Why are you talking to me as if I'm your friend?]**

 **[Why should I help you?]**

 **[How can I help you?]**

You scanned over the choices carefully this time. You weren't just going to choose all willy nilly. Textbox 1 was out because you had picked it last time. Textbox 2 was reasonable, but it wasn't asking a question that would get you answers. Textbox 4 was way too trusting, however, it might make him a let his guard down when you met. Still, textbox 3 would communicate that you didn't trust him, because you sure as hell didn't, but also that you also weren't going to be totally uncooperative in whatever plan he had for you.

* * *

 **MC:** Why should I help you?

 **Unknown:** Since you're the only clue I have.

* * *

And he was the only clue you had. You needed him just as much as he needed you. The only real question was Why. Why did he need you specifically?

* * *

 **Unknown:** I've been trying to find the owner of this phone, but I didn't find any clues until now.

 **Unknown:** I would really like to find the owner.

 **Unknown:** _Then the Savior will be happy._

* * *

' _Savior?'_ You paused rereading the message. Yes, he did type savior. But who was he talking about? Most people if they're talking about God would use God. It didn't even feel like he was referring to some objective deity, but a real and tangible person. You made a mental note of this 'savior' and told yourself you would try to dig up more information on them...that is if you even could.

There was no guarantee that Unknown would answer your questions or that you would even be able to ask them in the first place. Your plan, if you could even call it that, was dubious at best and perilous at worse. You thought you had already experienced the worst that could happen. It couldn't get much worse than dying, right? You didn't see how it could.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Oh! Sorry I didn't mention it before. I'm religious.

* * *

While you're at it, you should also make it a point to find out more about this so-called 'religion'.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Never mind what I just said. I'm sorry if I weirded you out.

 **Unknown:** _**Can you please help me? I'll make it up to you if I get to go back to Korea.**_

 **Unknown:** It's a really safe place. If you feel unsafe, you can turn around.

 **Unknown:** I know the area. It's developed.

 **Unknown:** Please?

* * *

You hesitated as you looked over the messages. This was it. You knew that not agreeing to go to the apartment resulted in you still going to the apartment. There was really no reason for you pick that option again. But going to the apartment… You shuddered.

"No. No. This is going to be different," you told yourself. You weren't going to fight. You weren't going to fall down the stairs. You weren't going to die.

* * *

 **MC:** Fine… I'm leaving right away if it feels sketchy.

 **Unknown:** You trust me…

* * *

"No. I don't."

* * *

 **Unknown:** _ **Thank you!**_

 **Unknown:** Just a sec. I'll send you the address.

 **Unknown:** Found it.

 **Unknown:** [Address {(South Korea)Seoul-Gangnam, Gangnam-daero-5-gil, 14-dong 5-ho, 30174}

* * *

Your thumb hovered over the link, about to press it… but you stopped. What would happen if you didn't tap the link?

Pulling yourself up from the floor, you searched the apartment for a pen; which you found sitting in the small end table drawer. You quickly uncapped it, scribbling on your palm until thick, black ink scrawled itself on your skin. Then placing your phone on your thigh, you wrote that address on your arm. You had to go over each of the characters several times and you wrote slowly trying to get used to writing the foreign symbols down. It stung a bit, but the pain only served as a reminder that this was real and you weren't dreaming.

After you were satisfied that you had copied the address correctly, you opened up your web browser and searched for a cab company number. A dozen or so websites filled the screen and you quickly choose the first one, dialing and bring the phone up to your ear.

"Hello?" A man's gruff voice answered.

"Um...Hi," you breathed a sigh of relief that someone had answered. "I need a cab to pick me up at…"

You paused. Thinking more about it, you had no idea where you even were. "Hold on a sec," you said as you got up and walked over to the small kitchen table where you recalled was a stack of unopened envelopes. It was mostly junk mail with one or two important letters thrown into the mix. But it gave you your location and that's what you needed.

 _South Korea  
Seoul-teukbyeolsi, Hongdae-gu, Hongdae-ro-11-gil  
6-4  
Pak, Mi-Cha  
30174_

' _Mi-Cha?'_ Was that her name? You didn't have much time to ponder it further, however, because the man on the phone spoke up. "You still there?"

"Uh, yes. Sorry." You apologized and told him the address. He told you that a cab would arrive in about 10 minutes and hung up, cutting off your polite thank you.

"Well…that's it then," You said. Those next 10 minutes were spent getting dressed again. But this time you hesitated to grab the warm hoodie. You didn't really need it did you? No. You should be okay. Not considering that it was early September so the night air was cooler and would warrant more than your black tee-shirt and jeans to stay comfortably warm. But you reasoned you would rather suffer a little chill than wear that hoodie again.

Navigating your apartment complex was more challenging than you would've thought. You were sure that she, Mi-Cha, had gotten used to the out-of-service elevator and having to walk up and down 4 flights of stairs. But you weren't. The place you lived seemed homely. (if that's the word you're looking for.) It wasn't run-down, and yet you couldn't exactly call it luxurious...or even decent, to be honest. The yellowish wallpaper was peeling in certain spots, revealing holes in broken plaster, and some of the overhead lights were out. If you had to take a guess, you'd figure that Mi-Cha could not afford to live any place better. Perhaps, she was a broke college student or maybe someone who had moved out too early and had to make a way for herself. She didn't look like she was any older than twenty-three or twenty-four years so it was possible.

You made it down to the street before the taxi arrived and decided to take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the neighborhood. The street was deserted. On one side of the apartment complex was a 24-hour convenience store and on the other was a Korean BBQ that had long since closed. And if the bars on the windows were any indication the area which you lived had a touch more crime than what would be safe for you to be standing on the street. You decided to wait inside the convenience store.

The store clerk paid barely a glance at you as you entered, more interested in the screen of their smartphone than a possible customer in a deserted store. You felt hyper aware of yourself and tried to make yourself look somewhat busy and not at all like you were looking around suspiciously. There wasn't much money on you. Not much cash anyways. You had managed to find Mi-Cha's wallet, but she only had two one-thousand won bills and a handful of smaller coins. In your search, you had also come across Mi-Cha's debit card but that was totally useless to you without the pin number. So you knew you couldn't buy anything.

You wandered down the chip aisle taking note of the various packages and intermittently looking out the window for your cab. The bell overhead the door jingled as someone else entered the store. You looked up but were only able to catch a glimpse of a tall figure clad in a black leather jacket with a hood pulled up. The person walked up to the counter and gestured over to the cases of cigarettes behind the clerk.

You watched them with a sense of vague recollection. ' _That jacket…'_ you thought. It looked like the same jacket that Unknown had been wearing. But surely he wouldn't just follow you into a convenience store. Not when there were security cameras and a witness. No, he couldn't be that brazen, right?

Unconsciously, you leaned forward trying to peer from around the shelves. This might be your only chance to catch him off guard. If only he would turn around then you could know for sure. The person laid down the money for their cigs and were just about to turn and head toward the door, when suddenly the flimsy display rack on which you had been bracing yourself toppled forward and crashed to the floor with a loud clamor of metal and chip bags.

"Hey!" The store clerk squawked.

You had barely avoided following the display and instantly jumped to attention. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I'll clean it up," you had already crouched down and was hurriedly scooping up the chip bags in your arms and shoving them haphazardly onto the display.

' _Fuck. He saw me. There's no way he didn't.'_ You felt your stomach twist painfully.

"Here let me help," a voice offered and your blood turned to ice as you felt the overbearing shadow of the leather-clad figure standing over you. Immediately, you looked up into the face of…

It wasn't Unknown.

You didn't know whether you relieved or disappointed. The man standing over you was taller than Unknown, you realized. Unknown had only stood about 5'7 and this man was somewhere around 6 feet. He shared Unknown's stark white hair, however, his skin tone was much paler suggesting a kind of albinism which you assumed was correct when a quick glimpse of his eyes proved to be a deep burgundy. As far as the rest of his appearance went, he couldn't have been more different from Unknown. While Unknown had been had been almost sickly looking, this man, if you could be so presumptuous to say, was the epitome of psychical health. Broad muscular shoulders and biceps and a shirt that clung so tightly to his stomach that you were able to see the outline of two, four, possibly six of his of his abdominal muscles… You hadn't even realized you were checking him out until he let out a small chuckle.

"Well it's not the first time my looks have stunned someone into silence," he smiled genially. And taking your stunned silence as acquiescence, crouched to pick up a bag of _Ray's Potato Chips_.

Gosh, that smile… If his body's physical fitness wasn't enough, this stranger just happened to be blessed with the symmetry of features not seen outside of a fashion magazine. Perfectly proportioned almond-shaped eyes set above a strong nose and further down full lips pulled taut over glimmering white teeth. His chin was slightly cleft and it wasn't until that moment that you realized you had a weakness towards that and dimples. ' _Fuck…'_

But he was still watching you with slightly raised brows and a look that said, "I know I'm hot. Now, what are you gonna do about it?" It was cocky. He was cocky. You nearly forgot yourself for a moment, however, your situation came crashing back around you and again you felt the crushing knowledge of Unknown and the apartment which you had to go. You didn't have time for this.

"Ha," you let out a short laugh, "You're a bit full of yourself. Maybe you should wear some looser shirts because clearly, it's affecting how much oxygen is getting to your brain."

A flash of surprise, then a smirk. "Whoa. If you wanted to see me without my shirt all you had to do was ask," his response was brazen. And you felt your face heat up slightly. Were you seriously flirting with a stranger ian a abandoned convenience store while your life hanged in the balance?

"Do you use that line on all the girls?" Yep. You were seriously flirting this stranger.

"Only pretty ones in at convenience stores," he returned with a wink.

The action was so out of place with your current turmoil that you just had to laugh. "I can't believe this is happening?"

"Yes, it's not everyday you see a face like mine," he boasted ridiculously.

With that you couldn't disagree. Yet you found yourself enjoying this little tit-for-tat too much to say it. Instead, throwing another quick jab at him interested to see how he would react. "Funny cause I could've sworn I saw it on a perfume ad."

A faint warmth to his face and slip of one of the chip bags from his hands was the only indication that you had ruffled him. "Haha...I'm not a model."

"Well you look like one," you remarked picking up the bag he had dropped and depositing it on the rack.

He had the audacity to look humbled by your compliment; even though he obviously agreed with it. "Thank you."

You shrugged. "I'm just stating facts."

"I'm actually an actor," he told you.

"An actor?" You exclaimed jokingly, "Why gee, I didn't know I was in the presence of a celebrity. Would it be too forward to ask for an autograph?"

His expression fell. "Yes it would." He was so serious for a second that you had thought you might've offended him. Then that cocky grin reappeared and he said, "But a phone number would be okay."

' _Damn that was smooth,_ ' you thought. You felt your face heating up again and you found yourself nodding as he placed the last bag of chips on the display. You both stood up.

"You're damn charming," you said and fished your phone out of your back pocket, placing it in his hand. And he busied himself with typing his number into your contact list.

"So are you?" He replied. "I don't give my number out to many people."

"And here I thought you were just talking to me because I was pretty," you rejoin. Which made him laugh good-naturedly as he handed your phone back.

"Now who's full of themselves," he said.

You smiled and looked down at the new contact. ' _Zen'_ it read followed by a winky emoticon. "It was nice meeting you, Zen." You said cordially, "Thanks for helping me."

"No problem, babe."

"Babe?" You repeated. "A bit informal for a first meeting."

"Well you didn't tell me your name," Zen pointed out.

You paused. Your name… It was impossible to give your real name because for the life of you you couldn't remember, but her name. "It's Mi-Cha," you told him. It felt like a lie and it kinda sounded like one too. Zen, though, showed no sign that he noticed.

Outside you faintly heard the rumble of a car engine, so you glanced out the window to see your cab parked out on the curb. You wished you could've stayed. Really you didn't want to leave, but you had to go. If you didn't you feared what Unknown would do. "I gotta go," you admitted gesturing to the window, "my cab's here."

Zen's eyes flickered to the window. "Ah. Well, I'll see ya around Mi-Cha."

If only you had known.

"Yeah," you said. The conversation fell flat as you were at a loss of what to say next. It seemed for the moment that neither of you were quiet willing to leave just yet, however the meeting had come to its natural conclusion so there was nothing left to say. Awkwardly, you laughed. "Goodnight, Zen."

"Goodnight," he gave his own nervous chuckle realizing how ridiculous the two of you were acting.

You laughed again, less awkward this time. "Bye, Zen." And brushed past him out the door. Sparing only a glance back at the store window as you climbed into the cab.

The cab ride took an entire 38 minutes. You didn't think it would be so long, but apparently the address was on the other side of the city. " _That's okay,"_ you thought. It gave you more time to sort out what you were going to do when you got there.

From what you remembered of last time, Unknown had been waiting for you on the stairwell. You were unsure of whether he had taken the stairs or the elevator, but undoubtedly that's where he had been watching you from. The best choice of action would be to figure out his routine. How he had followed you. How he had planned to get you out of the building unseen. And to do that you would need to know the layout of the apartment complex. You would have to walk around a bit before going to the apartment.

He had to have driven a car of some sort. Which meant that he had to have parked it nearby. If you could find it maybe…

"Hey," the cab driver's voice caused you to jump in your seat. "We're here." You leaned forward and looked out the side window at the large highrise looming overhead. The lighted windows shown out illuminating the street and inside you could make out the figures of a security guard and a doorman conversing over the main desk.

Turning back to the driver, you pulled out the two won bills from your wallet and handed them out to him. But he didn't take them. The older man stared at them then pursed his lips incredulously. "Is that a joke?" He asked tapping the little meter by the dash.

You looked at the glowing numbers shown on the box and was horror stricken at the amount shown. ' _20,000 won?'_ You looked back down at the bills in your hand. No wonder the cab driver had scoffed. "I'm sorry," you said reaching into your purse for your wallet. You didn't know what you were gonna do. You didn't have the money to pay for the fare.

"Do you take credit?" You asked flipping through the various pockets. A library card, a driver's license, employee ID, bus pass, a reward card to _Dunkin Coffee_ , and your debit card. But without the pin number it was utterly useless to you. You thought about bolting for the building, but odds were the cab driver would get the help of the security guard and call the police for skipping out on your fair.

"Sure do," he said and pulled out a card reader from the middle console.

By now you were beginning to panic. You needed to some money fast and the driver wasn't going to wait around all night, and Unknown… You winced. ' _Fuck. I can't -wait...'_ Just as you were about to lose all hope, you saw it sandwiched in between a stack of receipts was a credit card. Instant relief washed over you as you hurriedly pulled it from the slot and handed it over.

It was only the first hurdle that you would have to get over. Things here were expensive and from what you could tell Mi-Cha was broke. If you made it past tonight, you would have to figure out how to get a hold of some actual money.

You thanked the cab driver again and climbed out of the car. A cool breeze blew past you causing you to rub your arms. Perhaps you should've taken the hoddie with you after all. It was too late to do anything about that now, however, so with quick strides you headed toward the front doors and out of the cool night air.

In retrospect, it hadn't been a good idea for you to try to take the stairs. The apartment was on the fourteenth floor. And it was after the first four that you had to stop and ask yourself what the fuck were you thinking. But at the time you were only thinking of Unknown and how he had come out of the stairwell. You only managed to the sixth floor before you decided it was a stupid idea and this body was so not in shape for it.

Huffing you leaned against the handrail. "I hate exercise." Of course he wouldn't have walked up all these stairs. No. Anyone with any lick of sense would've taken the elevator. So what did that make you? Ugh. Probably nothing good.

Taking a moment to catch your breath, you started for the door that lead to the sixth floor hallway, wrenching it open, and slamming your thumb down on the button for the elevator. You waited periodically glancing about for anything suspicious. It was only a minute or so before the elevator dinged and you straightened yourself up as the door opened.

You weren't expecting what you saw when those thick metal doors slid open. In fact, you were so caught off guard that you stood there dumbly for a few seconds, until Unknown's sea-green eyes flickered up to your face. ' _Oh shit!'_

There he was, leaning against the wall of the elevator. Leather jacket unzipped showing a red v-neck shirt and his mask pulled down around his neck, unruly white hair falling partly in his eyes. He was like a phantom appearing before you. And you felt your blood turning to ice in your veins.

You saw the recognition flash in his eyes and now that the lower part of of his face wasn't being covered by a mask, you saw his jaw clench. You wanted to run, but you knew that if you did he would realize that you knew who he was. No, it was better to get on the elevator and act like total strangers. It would be safer that way. And as long as you acted none-the-wiser, you could get those answers that you had been so dying to ask him.

You pulled your phone out of your back pocket, making it look like you were preoccupied with a text message. Which as far as he knew you could have been double checking the address he sent you.

"What floor?" Unknown's voice wasn't being distorted so it took you a second to realize that it was actually him speaking. But when you did you looked up and glanced at the glowing number 13, before you answered.

"Fourteenth floor, please." It was amazing how you were able to say that without the slightest tremor in your voice.

He nodded and leaned forward and pressed the button. Then the two of you lapsed into a tense silence. You weren't sure whether or not you should say something to him. Make small talk… ' _Hmp. Yeah right. Like I'm just going to talk about the weather with my future kidnapper,'_ you frowned. Still you felt like you should say something just to break this silence. You could feel his eyes on you; searing into your skull. It made your stomach start churning.

' _Stop looking at me. Stop. Stop._ '

Your fingers tightened around your phone. Your glanced at the numbers slowly counting upwards.

7.

8.

9.

' _Come on. Move faster.'_

10.

11.

12.

' _Stop looking at me…'_

Your nerves were wound so tight that you about jumped out of your skin when the elevator dinged signaling the thirteenth floor. Unknown had raised a brow at your behavior, however thankfully he said nothing about it.

"Goodnight," he said as he exited.

"Yeah...you too."

Then the doors slide shut and you slid to the ground. "Holy shit…" you ran your shaking fingers through your hair. That was the most nerve wracking thing you could remember experiencing. And since you had no memories before about a couple hours ago, you guessed that it would be the first of many.

The elevator dinged for fourteenth floor and carefully, you slowly got back on your feet; holding onto the handrail for shaky foot after another until you made it to the door of the apartment. Glancing nervously over your shoulder, you turned your attention to the industrial keypad lock and for the first time noticed the tiny letters printed above the doorknob: _RFA._

You quickly pulled up the _Mystic Messenger_ app and saw that Unknow still hadn't texted you yet. Funny because he definitely knew you were here and still the last message was the link for the address. Maybe you had to click something to get things moving again.

 **[Go to address.]**

A wave of vertigo passed over you and you were sure you passed out for a brief second. Although, because you had already arrived at the address when you opened you eyes you were still standing in front of the apartment door. That must've been what you had to do because no sooner than you had tapped that button that Unknown had started messaging you again.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Are you there? ^^. See. Nothing strange.

 **Unknown:** Is there a password lock on the door?

* * *

' _Here we go. Round 2.'_

* * *

 **MC:** Hmm… I don't see one.

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** There's really nothing?

 **Unknown:** There's nothing to put in the password?

 **MC:** There's nothing.

 **Unknown:** …

 **Unknown:** You sure?

 **MC:** It's not here.

 **Unknown:** Really?

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** I can see with my own eyes that…

 **Unknown:** You are standing in front of a password door lock.

 **Unknown:** Are you gonna continue lying?

 **MC:** What? You can see me?

 **Unknown:** Haha… Yes.

 **Unknown:** I guess that's it then.

 **Unknown:** Plan failed.

* * *

This time when Unknown stepped out from the stairwell you weren't surprised. Instead, you regarded him coolly as you waited for him to finish his little speech.

"The plan failed…"

"Yes, you typed that already genius," you snarked.

"—I'll have to find somebody else."

It was just like last time. He couldn't hear a word you said which meant that you could get away with rolling your eyes and sassing him to his face. You just wanted to get passed this spiel.

 **[Who the hell are you?!]**

 **[This is creepy! I'm getting out of here.]**

Since you picked the second option, this time you decided to go with the first. "Who the hell are you?" You screamed taking an involuntary step backward.

' _Huh?'_ You frowned glancing down at your feet. It would seem that whatever this app is, it doesn't only control your words, but also your actions too. That was more unsettling than you would care to admit. Considering all the implications it could literally make you do or say anything against your own will. Panic started welling up in you again as fought to control your own body and take a step forward. No such luck.

"H-hey!" You yelled angrily swinging your arms forward to unstick your feet. They didn't budge an inch. It was like someone had superglued your feet inside your shoes then cemented your shoes onto the floor.

Unknown was wholly unaware of your predicament, however and continued on speaking. "You don't need to know," he said, "What should I do with you…? I'd like to let you go, but you already know me…"

"—You can at least help move my fucking feet from this fucking floor!"

"Sorry, but you'll have to come with me."

 **[Okay.]**

 **[No.]**

"Okay." You don't hesitate to pick and as soon as you do your feet magically unstick themselves from the tiles and you fall forward onto your knees. "Ouch. Stupid app," you hiss picking up your phone and glaring at it.

Unknown let out an amused laugh and for a split second, you wondered if he had actually seen you almost faceplant on the floor. But then you realized that nope, he hadn't seen a thing. "I can feel that you are quite similar to me," he remarked.

"Yeah, I highly doubt that."

"This is exciting."

"How so?" It was really stupid that you kept responding to him even though you knew he couldn't hear you. But it had become almost reflexive at this point and you couldn't stop.

"Well, you never had a choice anyways…"

The second time he said that hit you much harder than the first. Did you really not have a choice? In light of everything that happened, it would seem not. And yet you absolutely refused to believe that. This app may control what you say and how you move, but it doesn't do that all the time. Which meant that someway, somehow, you might be able to work around it.

"Now let's go. I'll be nice," Unknown held out his hand toward you. This time you weren't going to fight him. So instead of chucking you phone at his face, you placed it in his outstretched hand. His eyes crinkled up at the corners and he slipped the device into his black jeans before firmly, but also gently, taking your hand and leading you behind him to the elevator.

The metal doors slide open instantly and you both stepped inside. You couldn't help staring at him. This was your chance to figure out what was going on. "Umm...can you hear me right now?" You ask hesitantly.

Unknown turns his head and scrunches his eyebrows confused. "Yeah...that's a weird question," he said.

Immediately a feeling washes over you, it not quite relief, but something akin to it. He can hear you. He can see you. "Really? You can?"

"Yes." He's still looking at you like your kinda crazy. And you think you see something like surprise cross over his face when you tightly grip his hand.

"Are you sure?" You ask again, "Because I was screaming at you and you didn't even look at me."

The man is growing increasingly uncomfortable with you as he tries to loosen the death grip you had on him. "When was that?" He wondered.

"Before," you told him exasperated, "The last time you tried to kidnap me. But I tried to run and cracked my head open on the stairs! Look I need help and I think you're the only one that can give me answers. I woke up tonight in this body that's not mine in a country I've never been to in my life. Then you were texting me on that app, but it wouldn't let me type back and kept giving me text choices like I was in some kind of dating sim! And then you couldn't see or hear me before when I tried to talk to you! And I knew who you were in the elevator because when I cracked my head on the stairs and died everything reset back to those text messages! So we had already met!"

At your words, he no longer wasted time ripping his hand from yours. "What the hell are you talking about?" He hissed. He looked panicked. Like a frightened rabbit shivering in fear. And that's when you realized he had no memory of the previous time. Perhaps it had been a scarily accurate dream. But if that was the case then how come you have no memories of before this night? How come you don't think that this body is yours? If it was a dream why does everything still feel so off kilter?

"You don't remember." You whisper those words with finality. It was the final nail in the coffin. Another wave of dizziness washed over you and again you stumbled on you feet. Something was wrong. Your eyesight was swimming in and out, distorting Unknown's face into a hazy kaleidoscope of blue and white and black and red. You felt something wet trickling out of your nose and brushing a hand over it left a bright red streak on your knuckles.

' _What's happening?'_

Again your world was tilting; falling off its axis. And again Unknown reached out to you. And this time he caught you before you fell, but your world had already faded to black.

 _[Reset? Y/N]_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Here's chapter two. There might still be some typos because I'm sure I haven't caught everything. But thanks for everyone who's read the first chapter. I'm gonna start on chapter 3 here shortly.


	3. Day 1: 000 HRS: Resets 2

" _Maybe I'm foolish. Maybe I'm blind. Thinking I can see through this. And see what's behind. Got no way to prove it… so maybe I'm lying. But I'm only human after all...don't put your blame on me."_

—Rag'n Bone Man|Human (Deluxe)| Human

* * *

 **DAY 1| 000 HRS| RESETS: 2**

* * *

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Three chirps. One new message from Unknown. You didn't care to move. You didn't want to see that notification on your phone's screen. It was real, everything was real. You had died twice. You had gone to the address twice. You had met Unknown twice. And you could longer deny that time had reset itself twice.

It was funny how you could feel the seconds of time slipping away from you, and yet they didn't matter one bit. You just laid there on the futon bed and started blankly at the ceiling; counting every second as it passed.

Maybe you should just ignore the app this time. But you were so close the last time. You had been able to get Unknown to hear, to respond to you, without that stupid script. If it wasn't for your freak out —If you hadn't dumped everything on him like that —maybe, just maybe you could've gotten his help.

Rolling over, you disconnected your phone from its charger. Reading the notification from Unknown. Should you really go through this again? You hesitated looking around you at the stillness of your apartment. If it doesn't work this time...if it doesn't work, then you would try something else.

Third time's the charm, they say.

* * *

 **Unknown:** ...Hello…?

 **MC:**?

 **Unknown:** Can you see this?

 **MC:** Yes, I can.

 **Unknown:** ...Finally connected. Thank god.

 **Unknown:** It's not everyday you get a text from a stranger.

 **Unknown:** I'm a bit flustered myself. I found a smart phone at the subway station, but all it had on it was this messenger app.

 **Unknown:** I want to find the owner, but I don't see any contact info or call records…

 **Unknown:** I've been sending messages with this app but no reply…

 **Unknown:** All I see is an address and some important-looking numbers saved in the notes.

 **Unknown:** I'd like to go there myself, but I'm currently abroad…

* * *

 **[I thought this was an app for chatting with pretty boys.]**

 **[First...who are you?]**

 **[An address?]**

You had already pick two of those options. The first one still didn't feel like it belonged, however you saw no point in picking the other two. You would just repeat the same conversation over again and what's the point in doing that?

* * *

 **MC:** I thought this was an app for chatting with pretty boys.

 **Unknown:** What? Oh.

 **Unknown:** I guess you're seeing this message because of something you downloaded.

 **Unknown:** I'm not sure, but I think it's an app that's connected to the one I'm using?

 **Unknown:** Anyways...Can you help me find the owner of this phone?

 **Unknown:** I know you're surprised to have someone suddenly pop up and ask you a favor like this.

 **Unknown:** But still…

 **Unknown:** I'd appreciate it if you could help.

* * *

You let out a sigh. Rereading the same plea got old fast. You couldn't even muster up a snarky comment this time.

 **[Uh… Why are you talking to me as if I'm your friend?]**

 **[How can I help you?]**

 **[Why should I help you?]**

 **[Why are you so obsessed with finding the owner? You can just give it to the police or the post office.]**

Another sigh. "What hell," you mumbled. You didn't care about being strategic in choices anymore. It all lead to the same result.

* * *

 **MC:** How can I help you?

 **Unknown:** Uhm… I'd like you to go to the address saved here.

 **Unknown:** I saw the street view through the internet, and I've been there before.

 **Unknown:** It's an apartment in downtown. Very crowded.

 **Unknown:** It's a really safe place. If you feel unsafe, you can turn around.

* * *

You wondered briefly what would happen if you took him up on his offer to back out when going to the apartment. Surely, he wouldn't just let you walk away. No. The odds were that he would follow to a dark alley somewhere and drag you into a van. Crowded places didn't mean safer.

* * *

 **MC:** Fine...I'm leaving right away if it feels sketchy.

 **Unknown:** You trust me…

 **Unknown:** Thank you!

 **Unknown:** Just a sec. I'll send you the address.

 **Unknown:** Found it.

 **Unknown:** [Address {(South Korea)Seoul-Gangnam, Gangnam-daero-5-gil, 14-dong 5-ho, 30174}

* * *

You stood up from the bed and walked over to the bathroom, where there was a small closet and dresser. Shedding your clothes, you moved on habit tugging out a pair of dark jeans, a white mid-sleeve shirt, and nude colored bra from the dresser. Then after you had changed your clothes and put on shoes, a pair of black ankle boots, you dragged a brush through your hair and twisted the long auburn locks into a bun. You looked much more put together this time. Which was funny because you felt anything but.

Heading back out the bedroom/living room, you busied yourself with taking a closer look around at things. The first thing you noticed was that except for the two pictures sitting on the shelf by the table, Mi-Cha had no personal touches in the apartment. You decided to take a closer look. The first was of two small kids, a boy and a girl, putting their heads through the cutout holes of two cartoon characters. The little girl was obviously a younger Mi-Cha, but the boy looked to be a couple years older and had very similar features. ' _A brother perhaps…'_ You thought. The second picture was taken much more recently than the first. Mi-Cha didn't look to be much younger than she was now. She was wearing a Halloween costume of a sexy cop and hanging off of her was another woman dresses in a sexy nurse costume with brightly-dyed pink hair, a gold nose ring, a lip piercing, and a tattoo of a vine of roses curling around her right arm.

You starred at the two photographs as if the memories of these people would suddenly be transmitted into your brain. No such luck. These were as much strangers to you as Mi-Cha was. But why these photos? Most people at least had one picture of their parents right? These two had to have been important to her— important enough to warrant their spot in the barren apartment.

You wanted to learn more about these people. Who are they? Who am I? Next, you set your sights on the table with unopened envelopes. Tearing each one open, your eyes scanned through their contents.

' _Bill. Bill. Bill. Advertisement. Advertisement...wait what's this?'_ Stopping, you slipped a solid white envelope out of the pile. The address was handwritten, which was what first grabbed your attention, and it was from someone named Jin Soo Pak. You open the envelope and started reading.

' _Mi-Cha, you need to come home. Mom's not doing too well. I didn't even know how to get a hold of you. But I asked Hye and she gave me your address. Don't be mad at her. She wouldn't have done it if it wasn't serious. The doctors say her condition is getting worse...Yesterday, I went to see her and she didn't even know who I was. I can't do this by myself, Sis…So just, please. Come home. For me. I know Mom treated us —treated you terribly...but she's the only family we have. This is all I ask.'_

You started at the words written on the page. You had a brother and his name was Jin Soo. And a mother, who by the sound of it, was very sick. You looked at the postmark on the envelope and saw that the letter had arrived four weeks ago. Four weeks it had sat on the table unopened. So for whatever reason Mi-Cha didn't want to read a letter from her brother. She didn't want to go see her mother who was sick. But she obviously cared...at least for her brother or she wouldn't have put that picture up on the shelf.

It seemed complicated. Like most family matters were. You didn't have time to dwell on this, though, so setting the letter on the table you picked up Mi-Cha's purse and keys. You had more important things to worry about than the family drama of the person's life you had taken over. So without further ado, you picked up you phone from the end table and opening the chatroom, you pressed the link for the address.

 **[Go to address.]**

It was much faster to click the link than to find your own way around the city. If not for the bout of dizziness that came with it, you would think that it was good way to get from place to place. It certainly seemed much quicker. However, that was only because you had no memory of the time skip. When looking at the actual clock you saw that it took you the same amount of time to arrive at the apartment.

Einstein was right. Time is relative.

You waited for Unknown to start messaging you again and you didn't have to wait long.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Are you there? ^^ See. Nothing strange.

* * *

' _Not yet,'_ you thought.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Is there a password lock on the door?

 **MC:** Hmm. Don't see one.

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** There's really nothing?

 **Unknown:** There's nothing to put in the password?

* * *

You had been thinking a lot about the questions you want to ask him. But you realized that you didn't have the time to ask all of them. And also that you couldn't ask some of them without looking like a complete lunatic.

The best course of action, the only course of action really, was to ask about the apartment, who he was, and why he needed you to help him. If you could get those three questions answered then you felt that that would help you make a decision on what to do next. It would certainly give you a push in the right direction. And if it was a big enough push maybe —just maybe— you would go inside the apartment the next time or try ignoring the app altogether.

* * *

 **MC:** There's nothing.

 **Unknown:** …

 **Unknown:** You sure?

 **MC:** It's not here.

 **Unknown:** Really?

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** I can see with my own eyes that…

 **Unknown:** You are standing in front of a password door lock.

 **Unknown:** Are you gonna continue lying?

 **MC:** What? You can see me?

 **Unknown:** Haha… Yes.

 **Unknown:** I guess that's it then.

 **Unknown:** Plan failed.

* * *

Unknown stepped out from the stairwell. He gave his little speech out his plan not working. You listened halfheartedly to him, but your real focus was on your phone.

 **[This is creepy! I'm getting out of here.]**

 **[Who the hell are you?!]**

It didn't matter which one you picked. So you choose at random. One involuntary step backward. Unknown hummed...muttered something about being feisty. You didn't care. You just wanted to get to the end. It was like you were like you were watching a video on YouTube and you bumped everything up to 2.5 speed. The scene was slipping past you faster and faster.

"You're so cute…" Unknown mused.

' _Yeah...I know.'_

He continued his little speech. You can be my assistant...yada yada...I'll take good care of you...blah blah blah...I'm gonna spend the next couple minutes repeating everything from the last resets and you're just gonna have to sit through it. Okay, that last part was you, but everything else was in fact said.

Unknown held out his hand. "Come with me."

You didn't even hesitate. "Okay." Then slipped your hand into his like it was the most natural thing to do. You saw his brows furrow together puzzled. That was too easy.

Unknown looked at you curiously. "Really? Just like that, you're going to go with some guy you don't know?" He asked.

You simply shrugged and staring him dead in the eye said, "Would you rather I go to the police?" It was a challenge.

"What's your game?" His grip tightened on your hand. You saw the immediate distrust there. He was suspicious of you...good. Now you were both on the same page.

"My game," you started, "I'll tell you my game if you answer three questions for me first."

"No."

"Really?" You took a step closer, batting your eyelashes. "Not even if I tell you I work with the RFA. Not even if I told you I could help you destroy them...especially _him._ "

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're lying," he said, "there was nothing in the records about you being involved with them."

"And there wouldn't be," you replied, " I'm more of an unofficial member. If you answer my questions, I can tell you the weak-point in his security." It was bullshit...all bullshit. And yet you could see that your words were having an effect on him.

"Just three questions?" He asked.

"Just three questions," you repeated. "I promise they'll be easy."

He paused and glanced over your shoulder at the door. He seemed to mull it over and then turning his attention back to you nodded. "Fine."

' _About damn time!'_ You felt like clicking your heels. Finally, after all that, you're going to finally get some fucking answers. "Okay! Question 1: What's your name?"

Unknown clearly hadn't been expecting that question. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I'm your assistant, right? So you'll clear something's up for me, won't you? We're going to be working together so what am I supposed to call you?" You continued to sneak inside his personal space, sliding up against him so that you breath fanned across his neck. You were standing so close to him now that you could feel the body heat seeping through his clothes, you could smell the traces of cigarettes on his breath. Then suddenly you leaned even closer, close enough that your lips were brushing the shell of his ear, and pouted. "Come on, _Oppa..._ play fair. You already know my name. Why can't I know yours?"

He blinked and gently pushed you away, holding your arms so you couldn't get any closer. His eyes studied your face seriously. "Don't."

You smiled coyly. "Don't what?"

"Don't do that," he said.

"Alright, alright. You like your personal space. But can you answer the question, please?" You let out a sigh, "I mean I can't just keep calling you Unknown can I?"

"Boss. You can call me boss," he told you.

"But that's not your name," you argued.

"Doesn't matter. That's all you're getting."

You frowned. Why was this guy being so difficult? "Fine," you said a bit angrily and removed yourself from Unknown's grip. "Question 2: Why did you need me to go inside the apartment?"

"If you were really with the RFA you'd know why," he retorted.

You saw that you had made a huge blunder. And you had to backpedal quickly to avoid the landmine in front of you. "It for the documents right?"

"Yes."

"You needed a proxy," you said.

"Yes."

"And you just chose me at random."

Unknown gave you this look which was the equivalent of, "Well, duh. If I had known you would be so difficult, I would've picked someone else." So you being picked had nothing to do with your body switching or your lapse in memory. It was just a coincidence then.

That's good to know, you guessed. At least you could stop wasting your time trying to ask this guy about body switching. "Last question: Where are you taking me?"

"I'm taking you to Magenta. There we'll work to the everlasting party," he told you.

The everlasting party? That sounded a lot like… It wasn't just coincidence, right? The everlasting party sounded like the resets didn't it?

"What's the everlasting party?"

Unknown shook his head, "No. You already had your three questions. Now let's go." He grasped your wrist firmly in his hand and began to tug you along toward the elevator.

"W-Wait. Just one more question. Please."

But he didn't listen. The elevator doors slide open and he swiftly pulled you through him wrapping you tightly in his arms. "No more questions," he hissed. "Not until we get back to the Savoir."

"Who's the Sa—"

He clamped a hand over your mouth. "No. More. Questions." You tried you move your head to look at him; managing to only after you nodded in agreement to his order. Eventually, he released his hold on you after the elevator had already begun its descent to the parking garage. And you watched the numbers slowly count down, like the ticking of a clock keeping track of your last breaths of life.

13.

12.

10.

9.

8.

At the eighth floor, you felt that familiar sense vertigo wash over you.

7.

At the seventh floor, you had stumbled back into the handrail as your vision filled with black spots.

Unknown placed a hand on your shoulder; supporting your weight. His mask moved and you barely make out the gurgle of words. Something like hey...or say...shay. You could feel that trickle of blood coming out your nose.

The world was tilting or maybe you were.

 _[Reset? Y/N]_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Here's chapter 3. Now were officially caught up on the current chapters. I'm going to continue working on chapter 4 today. I'm about 1/4 of the way through it, so maybe I'll be able to get it posted sometime this week or next.


	4. Day1: 000 HRS: Resets 3

"— _And it's physical. It's like standing at the edge. Your blood starts to pump. 'Cause you're worried you might jump. And your head's throbbing like a heart. And your heart's throbbing like a drum. And the drum's throbbing like...The point is just go ahead and jump."_

OK GO|Hungry Ghosts|Obsession

* * *

 **Day 1|000 Hrs| Resets: 3**

* * *

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

You know life is kind of funny. Most people they wake up, they decide on what they're going to wear, they decide on what their going to eat. They go through their whole day making one choice after another, unaware that if they had chose something else —If they had done something different then their lives could be thrown completely off track. People really don't think about those little decisions: _Blue or black tie? Bagel or donut? Go to sleep early or stay up watching Netflix?_ But it's these little choices that they make throughout their day that determine what happens to them.

You hadn't really thought much about that before. But after have experiencing three time loops. You were beginning to get a new perspective on things. Perhaps, you were over thinking it. It's not like wearing ankle boots instead of sneakers was going to change the outcome of events. No. The only thing that you could see changing anything would be if you a) ignored the app or b) went inside the apartment. The only problem was you were unsure of which decision to make.

If you ignored the app, chances were that either Unknown would come looking for you or that you would experience another one of those time-freezes. And neither of those outcomes sounded favorable to you. But to go inside the apartment would be the equivalent of opening up a Pandora's box. You didn't know what would happen. It could be good. It could be bad.

You stretched out your body along the bed as you continued to deliberate. You thought of all the previous choices you've made. You thought of Unknown and the conversation you had had before the last reset. He said there were important documents in the apartment. Important enough that they warranted a high-level security system. If you went to the apartment, maybe, just maybe, you could find out what was so important that he would risk kidnapping in order to get his way. If you got ahold of those documents then it might give you more insight into Unknown and the mysterious place he called Magenta.

That was probably the best thing to do. However, you weren't a huge fan of walking into another situation only to be blindsided again. You wanted to know as much as you could about what you were walking into. So climbing out of the bed, you padded across the room to the table where a 5-by-7 inch laptop sat across from the discarded envelopes. You had ignored it previously because you'd been otherwise preoccupied with the app. But now that you knew what you wanted to do, it was only pragmatic that you would do a quick web search on the RFA.

Sitting down at the table, you woke the laptop up from sleep-mode, and blinked owlishly as the screen illuminated your face. It was password protected. Of course it was. No one left anything without passwords nowadays. Clicking on the mouse pad, you brought the cursor to hover over the ' _show hint' tab._

 _ **Hint:**_ Cash me.

Huh? What the hell kinda hint is that? You thought that most people had their passwords being something obvious like a name or a date, but this? It was just your luck that Mi-Cha happened to be one of those people who made up decent passwords.

You looked over the keyboard in search of a hint. You saw the dollar sign and thought you'd press it for as many letters as there were in the hint.

 _Password is incorrect._

' _Dammit,'_ you frowned. Next you tried typing in the exact hint.

 _Password is incorrect._

This wasn't getting you anywhere. You had to change your tactics. Standing up from the the table, you went to retrieve your phone from the end table, then pulling up the web browser you typed in the hint.

The second search result was an article titled: " **Dany Bergooli: 'CASH ME OUTSIDE' Girl Has A Screaming Tantrum After Fan Flirts With 'GF'** " You quickly typed the phrase: cash me outside, into the text box.

 _Password is incorrect._

Nope. "Come on," you groaned. This is ridiculous. You tried typing it again, only this time changing out the A with a $ sign.

"Please work…"

The little circle started spinning around. Thinking… You waited with baited breath. Hopefully this time.

"Yes!" You about cried in relief when the password went through. It was such a stupid password. Out of curiosity, you had read the article and it turns out that Dany Bergooli was on one of those therapist TV shows called _Dr. Bill_. A middle-school dropout who had gotten her own reality show after becoming a meme sensation. You had never hear of her. A Danielle Bregoli, but those two had completely different names for being almost carbon copies of the other.

You were able to quickly pull up a web browser. Then typing in into the web address. But this funny thing happened. Instead of going immediately to the website, you encounter a missing webpage message.

 _Do you mean ?_

Noogle? What the hell was Noogle? You searched that website and were brought to the Google homepage. At least it looked a lot like Google. The logo was the same colors and font, but it spelled out Noogle and not Google. That's not right is it? You felt a sense of unease coming over you.

Next you searched: _Netflix_ , _Dr Pepper_ , and _Dunkin Donuts_. What came back was _Netfilm_ , _Phd. Pepper_ , and _Dunkin Coffee_. What? This wasn't making any sense. You remember these names. It was pretty much the only thing you remembered before you woke up in Mi-Cha's apartment. You were sure you weren't wrong and yet nothing you remembered seemed to exist in this world —or if it did, it was called something else.

You sat there considering this. It wasn't just your memories. Everything you once knew was different. It was almost as if you were… No. That couldn't be possible, right? There was no way. You weren't in a parallel universe. You just couldn't be. It wasn't physically possible, modern science was still centuries behind in the technology it would take for a person to travel between dimensions like that.

But what else would explain it? It was much easier to believe that there was something wrong with your head than to believe you had crossed the boundary of time and space. But then again...Hadn't you already done just that more than once?

It was too much to think about right now. You didn't really want to be thinking about all this. It was starting to give you a headache. So pushing it to the back of your mind, you searched RFA. A whole page filled with various news articles.

RFA stood for Rika's Fundraising Association. It was a well-known charity organization. But then why would Unknown want a charity's documents? Clicking through the articles you skimmed the words catching mentions of a company named C&R and a famous photographer named V. There were also a few mentions of a woman called Rika Kim, who you guessed the organization had been named after.

You couldn't see how Unknown was connected to this? Like everything else, it wasn't making any sense. You felt like you were acting out a play, however no one had given you a script and you had no idea you were the main character. And it sucked. Because you felt lost. A piece of driftwood being tossed by these monstrous waves and you had no control of what was happening to you.

You picked up your phone and opened the chatroom. "I hate you," you whispered glaring at Unknown's message, "I wish you had never dragged me into this." There were so many thoughts running through your mind as you tapped that ' _answer_ ' button. You felt angry at Unknown for being what you saw was the cause of this whole mess. You were scared for yourself because there was still a chance of another time loop. Overall though, you were just fed up. You were fed up with this app. You were fed up with Unknown. And you so fucking fed up with dying at 12:45 am only to be reset back to this stupid apartment.

* * *

 **Unknown:**...Hello…?

 **MC:** ?

 **Unknown:** Can you see this?

 **MC:** Who are you?

 **Unknown:** I'm sure you're surprised.

 **Unknown: It's not everyday you get a text from a stranger.**

 **Unknown:** I'm a bit flustered myself. I found a smartphone at the subway station, but all it had was this messenger app.

 **Unknown:** I want to find the owner, but I don't see any contact info or call records…

 **Unknown:** I've been sending messages with this app but no reply…

 **Unknown:** All I see is an address and some important-looking numbers saved in the notes.

 **Unknown:** I'd like to go there myself but I'm currently abroad…

 **MC:** First… who are you?

 **Unknown: Me? Oh sorry. I didn't even introduce myself.**

 **Unknown:** I'm just… a student studying abroad. I'm Korean.

 **Unknown:** I could tell you my name, but it doesn't really matter.

 **Unknown: You won't find me on any search engines. ^^;**

 **Unknown:** But anyways..

* * *

' _Geeze, he talks a lot.'_

* * *

 **Unknown:** Can you help me find the owner of this phone?

 **Unknown:** I know you're surprised to have someone suddenly pop up and ask you a favor like this.

 **Unknown:** But still…

 **Unknown: I'd appreciate it if you could help.**

 **MC:** Uh… Why are you talking to me as if I'm your friend?

 **Unknown:** Oh. Sorry. ^^;

 **Unknown:** Living abroad make you lonely.

* * *

"Is that supposed to make me sympathetic or something?" You scoffed. He made it sound like there weren't other students abroad. Odds were this guy hadn't ever been out out the country —in fact, you'd bet money on it.

* * *

 **Unknown:** You don't have to be such a stranger too…

* * *

"Yeah, because we're such good friends…" Seriously, if you rolled your eyes any harder they'd get stuck that way.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Anyways, can you please help me?

 **Unknown:** I'd really like to find the owner.

 **Unknown:** It'd be great if you could go to the address and find some hints.

* * *

"You mean find your secret documents," you corrected.

* * *

 **Unknown:** It's a really safe place. If you feel unsafe, you can turn around.

 **Unknown:** I know the area. It's developed.

 **Unknown:** Please?

 **MC:** Fine… I'm leaving right away if it feels sketchy.

 **Unknown:** You trust me…

 **Unknown:** Thank you!

 **Unknown:** Just a sec. I'll send you the address.

 **Unknown:** Found it.

 **Unknown:** [Address {(South Korea)Seoul-Gangnam, Gangnam-daero-5-gil, 14-dong 5-ho, 30174}

* * *

You didn't click the link this time. Instead you chose to pack a small bag filled with clothes and toiletries. You also made sure to grab your laptop and phone charger, just incase you wouldn't be coming back here in a few days. Something told you that there was a high possibility of that. The last thing you did was take those envelopes from the table and stuffed them into a side pocket. You were about to walk out the door, but then you remembered the photographs on the shelf. Walking back, you picked them off the shelf and slid them into your bag. If you needed anything else you could always come back for it. Although, chances were that you'd reset again before that happened.

Climbing into the cab, you glanced over at the convenience store seeing Zen standing in front of the cashier. And you wondered briefly if you had been you and you weren't stuck in this timeloop, what would've happened. Would you have texted him? Would he had asked you out? Would you hit it off or decide to be friends? It was something to think about.

"Where to?" The driver asked and you turned and gave him the address. Then you were off. Watching out the window, you saw the city pass by you in a blur. Luminous lights shown out of tall skyrises like distant fairy lights. The sight filled you with a bit of childlike wonder. That's the thing about big cities, they never seem to sleep. Everywhere you looked it was like people were up; hopping from one karaoke bar to the next. It was still early in terms of night life. You wished you could be so carefree.

The cab pulled up in front of the apartment complex at exactly 12: 30 am. You hurried to pay and get out, throwing a quick thanks over your shoulder. Then jogging up to the door you head straight for the security desk. "Good evening," you smiled at the two men.

The security guard was a middle aged man of shorter stature with a slight pudge falling over his belt. He had a round face with a slightly pointed chin and round cherub-like cheeks. He reminded you of a human version of the _Pillsbury_ doughboy. The doorman was an older man, around late fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and crow's feet around his eyes. He stood much taller than the security guard, but it wasn't intimidating because he eyes shown with the warmth of a kind soul.

"Good evening, lil' lady." The doorman greeted. "Something we can help you with?"

"Yes. I'd hate to be a bother, but my friend lives here and she was going out of town so she asked me to house sit with her cat. But she forgot to give me the keys, so I was wondering if you minded me leaving my bag here with you two while I go down to the parking garage and get them from her? I don't really want to drag this thing around anymore than I have to, ya know?"

"Sure," the security guard answered," it's no trouble."

You thanked both the men and placed your bag on the desk. "I'll be back in like 10 —15 minutes tops," you told them. Then you started off toward the elevator. Once inside, you pushed the button for the fourteenth-floor.

As you went upwards it seemed as if your stomach was dropping to your feet. You were starting to have second thoughts. Did you really want to do this? No, not really. But what was the alternative if you didn't. You would just keep dying in the elevator with Unknown?

' _Ugh. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place…'_

The elevator dinged and you stepped off. Then you pulled your phone from your back pocket and opened the app.

 **[Go to address.]**

You blacked out mid-step and when you came to you were standing in front of the door. You hated that. It made you feel nauseous. It was like that feeling you get when you stand up too quickly and for a second the world feels like it's tilting. Your world was tilting, though it hasn't fallen yet.

* * *

 **Unknown:** Are you there? ^^ See. Nothing strange.

 **Unknown:** Is there a password lock on the door?

* * *

 **[Hmm. Don't see one.]  
[Yes.]**

Your thumb moved on habit. So it wasn't until after you had clicked a textbox that you realized you picked the wrong one.

* * *

 **MC:** Hmm. Don't see one.

* * *

"Shit."

* * *

 **Unknown:** That's strange.

 **Unknown:** There's really nothing?

 **Unknown:** There's nothing to put in the password?

* * *

 **[There's nothing.]**

 **[JK. It's here.]**

Fortunately for you, you were given a chance to correct your mistake.

* * *

 **MC:** JK. It's here.

 **Unknown:** Haha, nice.

 **Unknown:** You're pretty funny.

 **Unknown:** Then I'll send you the password.

 **Unknown:** 3141592653

* * *

You looked at the password then at the door lock. You couldn't just barge into someone's apartment. That's a sure way to get arrested for trespassing. And with a security lock like this you expected that there had to at least be one hidden camera somewhere inside. It would be an open and shut case.

Glancing down at your phone, you noticed the little 'answer' button glowing. Oh good.

 **[...Shouldn't I ring the doorbell first?]**

* * *

 **Unknown:** Hmm. You're right!

 **Unknown:** Sorry, I wasn't thinking straight.

 **Unknown:** Then ring the doorbell.

* * *

You pressed the button on the wall and waited. No answer. Just to be sure you pressed it a second time with the same result. "Dammit."

 **[I want to go back.;;]**

* * *

 **Unknown:** What? No.

 **Unknown:** Soon, you'll see the hottie

* * *

"What?" What the hell was he talking about? What hottie?

* * *

 **Unknown:** Whoops… Typo.

* * *

"Typo my ass," you said. "That was intentional Unknown."

* * *

 **Unknown:** Put in the password.

 **Unknown:** You can just leave a note. Yeah?

* * *

You scoffed. Did he really think he wasn't being seriously suspicious? ' _I mean...Come on man!'_ This was ridiculous. This whole mess was straight out a K-drama.

 **[Okay… Alright.]**

* * *

 **Unknown:** **Good girl. ^^**

You groaned. "I hate this fucking app." You only paused for a second before you started to type in the password. You could feel Unknown's eyes watching you from the stairwell as the lock beeped and you turned the handle, pulling open the door.

* * *

 **MC:** The door's open.

 **Unknown:** Good. Why don't you go inside?

* * *

 **[I guess I will.]**

 **[Can I just enter a stranger's house?]**

There was no point in stalling any longer. You hated to admit it. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that you were nervous about stepping inside some stranger's house. If this was a trap, which you didn't doubt, it seemed much safer to go inside the apartment than to stay out in the hallway with Unknown.

* * *

 **MC:** I guess I will.

 **Unknown:** Th

 **Unknown:** ank

 **Unknown:** you…

* * *

The door slammed behind you with an ominous thud. You were completely enveloped in darkness, so if anyone happened to be home they were obviously asleep. Moving your hand along the wall you flipped on a light switch; groaning at the harsh change.

You were standing in a small entryway of a studio apartment. It wasn't like Mi-Cha's studio. Hers was small. However this one looked to be around 1000 square-feet but just happened to be an very open floor plan that would classify it as a studio.

Off to the right there was the living room with a large L-shaped leather sofa and 52 inch flatscreen mounted overhead on of those faux fireplaces that you flicked on with a switch. The kitchen was all stainless steel appliances with white marble countertops and modern light fixtures. It was the kind of kitchen you'd see on one of those cooking shows; double oven, a six burner stove, and a large kitchen island perfect for prep work. The room was set up in such away that from where you stood you could only catch a glimpse of the bedroom area. A large king-sized bed with a fluffy white comforter —probably down— and navy colored pillows was blocked off by a partial wall of built-in bookcases. In front of that was a large metal desk with a _Pineapple_ desktop set on it.

Needless to say, the whole place screamed money.

"Hello?" You called out taking a step toward the living room. Just because no one answered the door didn't mean the place was empty. "Look. I'm not here to rob you. I'm just leaving a note…"

You walked over to the desk to look for a piece of paper and a pen. But you couldn't help but notice that the surface of the desk was covered in a thick layer of dust. Frowning, you ran your fingers along it picking up the the particles and turning your fingertips to an ashy grey.

The stillness of the apartment settled around you. Taking a closer look you were able to see for the first time that apartment was in fact abandoned. It looked as if no one had been in here for months. The air smelled stale like there hadn't been air circulating and there was a pungent undertone of something you could quite place. Following your nose, you went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Oh gwad!"

That was a mistake. The stench was a like being hit with a battering ram. It made you feel woozy and your stomach heaved. That smell… it was like —you couldn't even find words to describe it. You guessed the most accurate description was it was the smell of food that had been left rotting in the fridge for months. You couldn't even tell what any of it was supposed to be. It was all covered with a green or white mold. And it was just as you were gaging on this smell, fighting to not throw up into the sink, that your phone suddenly let out and shrill beep.

It was so loud and so sudden that you let out a small yelp of surprise. The screen of the device had lines and line of code running across it. And then —then came the next surprise. Without knowing why or how it happened, you were suddenly thrown into a chatroom with five other people.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** Failed my midterms fml T_T

 **707:** Cuz u played LOLOL all night lol.

 **Jumin Han:** If you want to work for our company, you should take care of your GPA.

 **Yoosung:** **I'm still on the list?! +_+**

 **Jumin Han:** Yes.

 **707:** Nice ~ Can't believe u get to work straight after college lol

 **707:** **In this day and age!**

 **Zen:** Lame. It's nepotism.

* * *

You blinked taking a closer look at the last message. "Wait Zen?" As in that guy you met as the convenience store? His profile pic was really small, but from what you could see it certainly looked like the same guy.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** It's called recruitment actually.

 **Zen:** It's giving a free pass instead of actually training the worker.

 **Jumin Han:** Whatever. I couldn't care less what you say.

 **Zen:** **What's the difference between recruitment and nepotism?**

 **707: Thought they r the same? O_O**

 **Jumin Han:** It's nepotism if you recruit a person you know and they aren't of any help.

 **Yoosung: Oh… So you become a candidate for nepotism the same time you're recruited!**

 **Zen: …**

 **707:** WAIT!

 **Yoosung:** Why?

 **Zen:** ?

 **707: Think someone entered the chat room;;**

 **Jumin Han:** MC…?

 **Zen:** Wtf. How did it get in here?

* * *

You were wondering the same thing. How did you get suckered into this? Here you were standing in some strange apartment after being lead here by some creepy guy and now you were chatting with a bunch of strangers in hope that you could figure out what the fuck was going on. You would love to leave this place, but you couldn't because chances were if you tried the app or whatever it was that was controlling all this could reboot and you'd be back in Mi-Cha's apartment talking to Unknown.

* * *

 **707: Hacker!**

 **Yoosung:** Hacker!? Therae's a hacker in over rooml!

 **Yoosung:** Sevnee do somethign!

 **Zen:** Hey, typos. -_-;;

 **707:** Wait a sec. I'm searching.

* * *

' _Searching what?...Oh no.'_ You were suddenly struck with the realization that if this 707 person was searching your phone then they would see your location and know that you had broken into the apartment. This was bad. This was really really bad. Turning on your heels you started heading for the door.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Who are you? Reveal yourself. Hey, Assistant Kang.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Yes, I am here.

 **Zen:** You were so quiet I thought you went somewhere.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Nothing was out of the ordinary so I was just watching

 **Jaehee Kang:** but I see something has happened.

* * *

...but wait —Unknown. Dammit! He was probably still waiting outside.

* * *

 **Yoosung: omg**

 **Jumin Han:** Why is a stranger in our chatroom?

 **Jaehee Kang:** No one can enter this chatroom without installing the private app we use… It seems someone has downloaded the RFA Messenger.

* * *

Was she talking about _Mystic Messenger_? What the hell kind of apps was Mi-Cha installing? You couldn't really be held accountable for some shit someone else installed on their phone. It wasn't fair.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** I thought Seven let only us download it?

 **Yoosung: ?**

 **Zen:** Maybe someone downloaded the app on two phones?

 **707: Maybe?**

 **Jumin Han:** Who downloaded it twice?

 **Yoosung:** Not me!

* * *

The answer button flashed at the bottom. Oh no. You did not want to be involved in this anymore than you had to be.

 **[Hello…]**

Seriously? That's it! Where's the Help-you're-stuck-in-a-time-loop-and-you-don't-know-what-to-do button? Or how about the Help-you-have-amnesia-and-you-don't-know-where-you-are button? Or the Help-you-have-a-creepy-guy-following-you-and-you-need-someone-to-call-the-fucking-cops button? You were beyond frustrated that out of all these possible options the only thing you were allowed to say was hello. There were more important things to be worrying about here. For example, how you were going to possibly explain this situation to the police without looking like a total lunatic. Then again, being crazy could play in your favor.

* * *

 **MC:** Hello…

 **Yoosung: Gahhhh it's talking!**

 **Yoosung: ?!**

 **Zen:** So it's not two smartphones.

 **Jumin Han:** Who is it?

 **Yoosung:** Find out what it is!

 **Jaehee Kang:** How did you find out about this place? Where did you download the application?

* * *

This wasn't good. Any second now they would find out you were there.

* * *

 **707: Oh…^^; Wait.**

 **707:** Just found something. This is weird.

* * *

You needed to do something...

* * *

 **Zen:** What is it. Hurry and tell me.

 **707:** I traced the IP…

 **707:** It's from Rika's apartment.

 **Yoosung:** **Rika's apartment?**

 **Jumin Han:** Where was it?

 **Jaehee Kang:** The location is not revealed. I know it to be classified.

 **707:** Anyways, someone must have broken into her apt.

 **707:** It talked just now, so it must be a person ^^;

 **Yoosung:** So it hacked the program, Seven?

 **707: Yup**

 **Yoosung:** Who are you?! How did you get into Rika's apartment?!

 **Yoosung:** How did you get this app?!

 **Yoosung:** Gah ~ So scared right now…

 **Yoosung:** I thought the apartment has a passworh lobk?

 **Zen:** Typo

 **Jaehee Kang:** I assume it was a break in.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Username "MC", I recommend that you confess.

* * *

"Confess to what?" You yelled frantically. You didn't have a choice in the matter. It wasn't your fault you were here.

* * *

 **Zen:** Jaehee, would you voluntarily confess to everything if it were you?

 **Jaehee Kang:** No. But it is good to ask first.

 **707:** Lolol

* * *

So she was merely asking? You didn't read it that way at all. It sounded a lot like a threat.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Quit shitting around.

 **Jumin Han:** MC… Who are you?

 **Jumin Han:** Reveal yourself, stranger.

 **Jumin Han:** If you do not reveal yourself, you will pay.

 **Zen:** Stranger you will pay? Lmfao

 **Zen:** omg~ *so scary*~

* * *

If you weren't so stressed at the moment, you would've laughed after seeing Zen's response. He sounded a lot like you.

* * *

 **Zen: It might be a girl.**

 **707:** That's sexist lol. U should watch what u say now that ur a famous actor.

 **Zen: I'm not famous;; just a bit recognizable.**

 **Yoosung:** Nah~ Look at the youtube hits~

 **Zen:** Dude. Stawp;;

 **707:** lolol

 **Jaehee Kang:** That video is still excellent no matter how many times I watch it.

 **Yoosung:** Zen, when do you start your next piece?

* * *

Wait...So did they just forget you were there or something? You were a little confused at what was happening. One minute they had been ordering you to reveal yourself, then the next they were discussing Zen's acting career. Talk about the conversation making a total 180.

* * *

 **Zen:** Don't know. It's up to the director.

 **Yoosung: He's a celebrity lol! I'm gonna tell everyone at school.**

 **Jumin Han:** HEY.

 **Jumin Han: DON'T GET DISTRACTED.**

 **Yoosung:** Oh, right. Username MC…

 **Jaehee Kang:** ...An abrupt stranger.

 **707: My hands r shaking as I hack.**

 **Jumin Han:** Who are you? Reveal yourself right now.

 **Yoosung: YEEES! WHO ARE U?!**

 **Zen:** Use proper Korean please.

 **707: If it doesn't say anything I'll hack in and find out.**

 **Zen:** ...Maybe

 **Zen: one of my fans?**

 **Jumin Han:** :(

* * *

The ' _answer'_ button flashed again. You sent a silent prayer that it would have something useful you can say.

 **[I am Mi-Cha. Who are you all and what is this place?]**

 **[Reveal yourselfs first. I'm the most confused one here…]**

* * *

 **MC:** I am Mi-cha. Who are you all and what is this place?

 **707:** Lol so awkward.

 **707:** I thought it was a computer talking.

* * *

Well, he wouldn't be wrong.

* * *

 **Zen:** Seems more normal than I thought.

 **Yoosung:** **What were you thinking?**

 **Zen:** ...Nothing~ Nothing.

 **Yoosung:** **Should we introduce ourselves?**

 **Jumin Han:** Are you serious…?

 **Jaehee Kang:** I think it is a bit too early for that.

* * *

You couldn't help but agree. Honestly, you couldn't have cared less about who these people were. You just wanted to get on with your life. Or what you guessed was your life now. But of course no one bothered listening to the voice of reason because no sooner than Jaehee had sent that message there was one from Zen telling you all about himself.

* * *

 **Zen:** Hi. I'm Zen. (24 yrs old) Musical actor... Don't look me up on the internet.

 **Zen:** It's embarrassing.

 **Yoosung: Zen, you're so brave!**

 **Jumin Han:** Guess he wanted to show himself off.

 **Zen:** No way~!

* * *

Zen sounded so outraged that this Jumin guy would even suggest such a thing. However, immediately afterwards he sent you a selfie of himself totally proving Jumin right.

* * *

 **Zen:** _see photo_

 **Yoosung: Omg… a photo too.**

 **Jaehee Kang:** My eyes have been cleansed.

 **Jaehee Kang:** *-*

 **Jaehee Kang:** Wait. I can't be like this…

 **Jumin Han:** I see that he has zero interest in his privacy.

 **707:** Lolol

 **707: My nickname's 707.**

 **707:** Real name is a secret.

 **707:** Fyi, Zen's real name is Hyun Ryu.

 **Zen:** Your name's a secret but not mine?;

 **707:** U don't care anyways lol.

 **Jaehee Kang:** 707 does have the strangest name so I understand the secrecy.

 **707: The name's too holy to be spread around~ I'm gonna pray after I finish hacking.**

 **Zen: …**

 **Zen:** Pray, yeah right;;

 **707:** Just remember me as the 22yr old young hacker lol

 **707:** Where I live is also a secret.

 **Zen: So many secrets;;**

 **Yoosung: I'm Yoosung Kim! I'm a college student… 21 yrs old.**

 **Jumin Han:** I don't know why everybody's introducing themselves. You don't even know who that person is.

* * *

To be honest, you were also wondering why they were behaving so cordially to you. You had just broken into Rika's apartment after all. If anything they should've been as suspicious of you as this Jumin and Jaehee were, if not more so. At least 707 was careful about the information he was sharing, yet Zen and Yoosung had both sent you selfies of themselves.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** _see photo_

 **707: So warm and fuzzy here**

 **Zen: Lol. Seven, you don't have any selfies to show?**

 **707:** Nothing recent.

 **707:** Oh and also!

 **707:** Jumin's the heir of a pretty famous corporation and Jaehee is his assistant. 27 and 26 yrs old respectively.

 **707:** You have a better sense of who we are now, Mi-Cha?

 **Jumin Han:** Why did you say that…?

 **707:** Doubted you'd do it urself.

 **Jumin Han:** Stop shitting around.

 **707: Oh, fyi, Jumin has the cutest cat.**

 **Jumin Han:** Hey.

 **Jumin Han:** Why are we talking about Elizabeth the 3rd to a stranger?

 **707:** The cat's name is Elizabeth the 3rd.

* * *

And then much to the chagrin of Jumin, 707 posted a photo of Jumin and his cat.

* * *

 **707:** _see photo_

 **707:** Oh. U already said lol.

 **Yoosung: That info's a bit useless…**

 **Yoosung:** We're not even close with this Mi-Cha person yet lol

 **Jumin Han:** Can't believe he showed a photo of Elizabeth the 3rd to a stranger…

 **Jumin Han:** Idiot..

 **Jumin Han:** I know you came to my house the other day and harassed her. It's all on the CCTV.

 **Jumin Han:** _see photo_

* * *

Then Jumin posted a screenshot from the security camera. It was a little fuzzy and in black and white, but you were clearly able to see a young man sitting on a sofa and holding a white cat up on her hind legs.

* * *

 **707: My previous privacy!**

 **Zen:** Yeah since you care so much about privacy…

 **Yoosung:** CCTV screenshots omg

 **Jumin Han:** And Yoosung.

 **Jumin Han:** Is my Elizabeth the 3rd useless?

 **Yoosung: ?!**

 **707: That was so funn~~**

 **707: I want to see that cat again~**

 **Jumin Han:** NO.

 **Zen:** Stop talking about cats. Giving me goosebumps.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I suggest that we take care of this stranger first.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Could it be that we have a security breach?

 **Zen:** True. Mi-Cha, how did you get in here?

 **Yoosung:** Is it really in Rika's apartment?

 **707:** Yup. It's for sure…

 **707:** HOW DID IT GET THE APARTMENT PASSWORD?!

 **Zen:** Where the hell is the apartment?

* * *

You saw the answer button flash again. This was it. You might finally be able to get some help.

 **[I am flustered too. I was connected to a stranger through a messenger app and he sent me the address.]**

 **[I came here while chatting with a person called 'Unknown'. Do you know him by any chance?]**

You were so far past annoyed right now. This app —this fucking app. Why couldn't you just tell them what was going on? Why weren't you allowed to type your own response? It was infuriating to have to rely on the pre programmed textboxes and hope that one of them leads to a situation you'd want. You needed to do something. You had to let them know just how precarious the situation you found yourself in was.

* * *

 **MC:** I came here while chatting with a person called 'Unknown'. Do you know him by any chance?

 **Jumin Han:** Unknown?

 **Zen:** Maybe he just didn't set a username?

 **707:** It's mandatory to set a username, so he must have set it that way.

 **707:** Maybe…

 **707: ?!**

 **707: A HACKER….?!**

 **Yoosung:**!

 **707:** A hacker! No way.

 **707:** I have everything covered!

 **707:** Hey, Mi-Cha. So he told you the password for the door lock?

* * *

 **[Ya. I know nothing.]**

 **[Yes.]**

Weren't they both saying the same thing?

* * *

 **MC:** Yes.

 **Jumin Han:** That 'Unknown' person could have dragged you into this.

 **Yoosung:** But…

 **Yoosung:** How did you end up chatting with that person?

 **Jaehee Kang:** I see.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Where did you download this messenger app?

* * *

"I don't know," you said.

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** Mi-Cha, you are quite strange as well.

 **Zen: Do you think this person's a creep? No way.**

* * *

' _Really Zen?'_ You thought a bit offended by the suggestion. He certainly didn't think you were a creep at the convenience store. In fact, you remembered a certain guy throwing himself at you and offering to take his shirt off. Like out of the both of you, he would be the one who was more creepy…

 **[I just wanted to download the game and play it.]**

 **[just got it at app store…]**

Game? You didn't know anything about a game. Still, you were getting a sense that that textbox was a clue; albeit a very obscure one.

* * *

 **MC:** just got it at app store…

 **Jumin Han:** What a modern way of talking.

 **Zen: So cute lol**

 **707:** Anyways.

 **707:** I should trace the person who distributed the app.

 **Jumin Han:** If what she is saying is true.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I think it would be a good idea to contact V.

 **707:** Yeah. I think that's a good idea.

 **707:** I'll call and explain everything.

 **Jumin Han:** I can call.

 **707: Already on it lol**

 **Zen:** Fast.

 **Yoosung:** Seven seems to talk to V pretty often.

* * *

You already had some idea who V was. From your web search you had been able to gather that he had been one of the founders of the RFA Charity group alongside his fiancee Rika Kim. It was Rika's apartment that you were in, so you guessed it would make sense if he was immediately contacted.

 **[Who's V?]**

 **[What is this chat room for;;?]**

* * *

 **MC:** What is this chat room for;;?

 **Jaehee Kang:** We can answer that after we have told V about this situation.

 **Jumin Han:** Yeah.

 **Jumin Han:** I hope V comes and takes care of all this.

 **Zen: V's too busy these days to come chat… We'll get to talk to him because of this~**

 **Yoosung:** We're all busy. I don't like that V's the only one not coming.

 **Zen:** Well… that's true…

 **Jaehee Kang:** V should know that Mi-Cha is here so let's just wait.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Seven, are you calling him?

 **707:** Ya.

 **Yoosung:** But shouldn't we tell Mi-Cha what this chatroom is for first?

* * *

"That's what I just asked," you said.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** She has to know how serious it is that she's here!

 **Jumin Han:** What's more serious is that she's in Rika's apartment.

 **Yoosung:** That's true…

 **Jaehee Kang:** I am always ready to call the police.

* * *

Yes, please do that. You kinda wanted the police to be called because at least then you'd be able to get away from Unknown and possibly get some help.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** Jaehee's scary T_T

 **Jumin Han:** Until we figure out who Mi-Cha is

 **Jumin Han:** I don't want to reveal anything.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I agree.

 **707:** Wecan.

 **707:** Sorry callingvandtypingwithonehand

 **Yoosung:** **Type after you finish the call.**

 **707:** Lookedintoownerofdevice.

 **707:** she'scutelol

* * *

Wait...He can see you? Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a blinking red light on a small security camera mounted in the corner of the living room. An idea struck you and you went over to the desk grabbing the first paper-like-thing you could get your hands on and a pen from the pencil cup and using big letters you scratched out one sentence, then held the message up toward the camera.

* * *

 **Yoosung: You did a background check on her!? So Mi-Cha is definitely a girl?**

* * *

 **[But I'm not a girl.]**

 **[You're not violating my…]**

 **[Where did you get that info!?]**

"Ugh. Seriously…" Just when you were about to get your message to someone the app goes and gives you a choice. Both options 2 and 3 were stupid. Of course this 707 was running a background check on you and he had mentioned several times that he was a hacker —Besides there was a security camera right over there, not 10 ft from you, and if he had any lick of sense he would've checked there first. You didn't need to ask where he was getting his intel because you already knew.

The only textbox 1 made any sense for you to pick. After all, as far as you knew you could've been a guy before...

* * *

 **MC:** But I'm not a girl.

 **707:** thenwhydoyouplaythisgame

 **Yoosung: ?!**

* * *

There's that game thing again? For the life of you, you couldn't figure out what that it means. Did 707 know about the textboxes?

* * *

 **Zen: ARE YOU A GIRL OR A BOY?**

 **707:** youdidntreadsweetfantasyforladies?

* * *

' _Sweet-what-for-who?'_

* * *

 **Yoosung:** I heard that's just the company's marketing scheme;

* * *

' _What company?'_ Were they talking about C  & R? You assumed so.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** **Anyways, are you a girl or a boy?**

 **Yoosung: ?**

 **707: girl**

 **Jaehee Kang:** Let's just say she's a girl.

* * *

Whatever. You couldn't bring yourself to care what your gender 'technically' was. Girl? Boy? It didn't matter. You were in a woman's body now so...Who cares what you were before.

* * *

 **Zen:** Oh! A girl!

 **Jumin Han:** What? It's really a girl?

 **707:** Ya.

 _{V has entered the chatroom.}_

 **Zen:** Show me a photo

 **707: Nope~**

 **707:** How dare you try to violate someone's privacy like that.

* * *

This was coming from the person that probably just hacked into your phone and was watching you from a security camera. It was almost laughable. And admittedly, you couldn't help the snort that escaped you when 707 posted a photograph of a woman, who definitely wasn't you, and tried to pass it off like it was.

* * *

 **707:** _see photo_

 **Jumin Han:** ?

 **Zen: IS THAT MI-CHA!?**

 **Yoosung: omg I thought we were respecting her privacy?**

 **Jaehee Kang:** ;;;;

 **Jaehee Kang:** That is a photo of me.

* * *

Now, you definitely laughed. How could they not recognize their own member?

* * *

 **Yoosung: Oh right! Sorry I was too excited;;**

 **Zen:** So..sorry for not recognizing you;;

 **Jaehee Kang:** Mr. Han, you can't recognize me either?

 **707:** Lol. Can't believe he doesn't even recognize his own assistant.

 **Jumin:** ...

* * *

' _Ouch…'_ This Jumin Han had just stepped on a massive landmine. You almost didn't want to read what his explanation was going to be. But it was like a car wreck, you couldn't look away even though you wanted to.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Now what are we going to do?

 **707:** V's coming here soon. He just hung up.

* * *

Oh nice! Divert the attention back onto you… Well played, Mr. Han.

* * *

 **V:** I'm already logged in.

 **707: Oh, V! You're here ^_^**

 **Zen:** Finally he's here.

 **V:** Yeah. I guess I'm the last one to know about this.

 **Jumin Han:** Oh well.

 **V:** How is everyone? Jaehee, you've been well?

 **Jaehee Kang:** Yes. It's been a long time, V.

 **Yoosung:** Hey V

 **V:** Hey.

 **V:** Well, I heard about the situation.

 **V:** Mi-Cha is currently in Rika's apartment with info from a stranger and logged into the chatroom.

 **707: I told him everything through the phone.**

 **Jumin Han:** Who disclosed the password for Rika's apartment?

 **V:** Well. No one knew the password. I don't even know.

* * *

How was that possible? If V and Rika were fiance and fiancee to each other, it would make sense that he would know the security code to his fiancee's apartment. They might've even been living together too, wouldn't they? Walking over to the desk you saw a framed picture sitting by the computer. The glass was dusty; but picking it up and wiping it with the sleeve of your shirt, you saw that it contained a photograph of Rika, V, and Jumin Han.

Rika was sitting the closest to the camera and as such, you were only able to see part of her face. But you could tell that she was very pretty. Bright green eyes and golden blonde hair was an indication that she wasn't Korean or at least she wasn't full Korean. She had an air of enthusiasm about her that made her smile light up the entire picture.

Behind her, you could make out a little of V's face. He wasn't smiling as brightly as Rika, instead, he was looking at the woman with adoration completely ignoring the camera. His hair was a dye turquoise color that stood out from his surroundings. And he too was very attractive with a strong jaw and possibly the bluest eyes you had seen since...Well, since Unknown.

And next to V sat Jumin. He was the only one who you were able to see his whole face. Dark hair falling slightly into his equally dark eyes, a strong jaw like V. However, he seemed more withdrawn. He wasn't smiling or looking remotely friendly like the other two. Instead, Jumin seemed, at least from this picture, to be the more serious type.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** ...Thought V knew.

 **Yoosung:** She never invited me to her apartment.

 **Jumin Han:** It's the same for everyone else.

 **Jumin Han:** No one's been there before.

* * *

That's really strange. Something struck you as odd about Rika. It wasn't just because she seemed very secretive that you were suspicious. No. It was the state of the apartment itself that made you so wary. Looking around, everything was left just as if someone had left in a hurry. It was like Rika had just walked out of her life and into thin air. There were still some dirty dishes sitting in the sink. And you couldn't understand it. It was just so strange…

* * *

 **Yoosung:** Tell us the address. I'll go there…. I want to check who Mi-Cha is myself.

 **Yoosung:** Seven, you know right? You traced the IP just now.

 **707:** Uhm. Sorry but…

 **707:** I can't tell you that.

 **Yoosung:** ?

 **Yoosung:** I'm her surviving family.

 **Zen:** Maybe because you're just her cousin?

 **707:** No even her immediate family can go.

 **707:** And the apartment doesn't belong to Rika.

 **Yoosung:** Then who?

 **V:** Me.

 **Yoosung:** You don't even know the password!

* * *

Exactly. That is what is so weird about all of this. Here was a charity organization who kept their records at one of the founders homes and yet not one of the other members had ever been here and only two actually knew where it was. For what you could gather something had happened to Rika because she was no longer part of the organization. So then why? It would be pragmatic to move the records to a new location after a member left an organization or even just tell the other members where the records were located. It was very very strange…

* * *

 **V:** I just respected her privacy.

 **Yoosung:** ...Were you really in a relationship with her?

 **Jumin Han:** I can't believe you never knew the password.

 **V:** I've never even been there. I just know where it is.

 **V:** Anyways, the apartment is in my name.

 **V:** Rika usually worked there. There are a lot of documents in there that must not be damaged.

 **V:** I can't reveal the address because all the classified information about this organization is stored there, plus other sensitive materials.

* * *

What sensitive materials? Were those the documents that Unknown wanted?

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** I didn't know the place contained sensitive material.

 **Yoosung:** You don't trust us enough to let us go, right?

 **Jumin Han:** Don't take it personally. It's better to be ignorant sometimes.

 **V:** Yes, for the reason Jumin said.

 **V:** Anyways, I can't tell you the address. I'm sorry.

 **Yoosung:** The how did Seven know that the address he traced is Rika's apartment?

 **Jaehee Kang:** Sine he's responsible for the organization's classified information.

 **707:** Yup. That's true, but also I'm the one who developed this app.

 **707:** Rika wanted to take care of some work through this too.

 **707:** I went to her place to link the app with some of the documents in her computer.

 **Yoosung:** Oh…

 **Jumin Han:** I see.

 **V:** Only Luciel and I know the address.

 **V:** I repeat, since the information must be protected, please do not attempt to find the apartment.

 **V:** Do not ask Mi-Cha about it and Mi-Cha, please do not reveal the address.

* * *

Just who exactly was V trying to protect the address from? There was something not quite right about this whole thing. You could feel it. And whatever it was it was connected to Unknown and the documents in this apartment.

 **[What's classified information?]**

 **[Luciel?]**

* * *

 **MC:** What's classified information?

 **V:** All the information there is classified.

 **V:** So Mi-Cha… Is that what I call you?

 **V:** Please do not touch anything there.

 **V:** For example, if you try to force open one of the drawers…

 **V:** The alarm will ring.

* * *

There was an alarm...Interesting. You guessed as much, but V confirming it also gave you the location of the oh-so-secret documents. Rika's desk was made out of a sturdy metal and upon closer examination of the drawers you found that not only were they all locked, but there was also this funny white wire running from the desk into the wall. You decided to heed V warning for now and not mess with anything.

* * *

 **Zen: !**

 **Yoosung: What do we do about her apartment?**

 **Yoosung:** Can Mi-Cha stay there?

 **V:** First…

 **V:** No one here is going to go to Rika's apartment, right?

 **V:** Since the information involves everyone around us, there might be trouble if we are not careful.

* * *

"Yeah. I think we got it, V," you said. He had been going over this for the last two minutes. And it appears you weren't the only one getting tired of this spiel.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Yeah yeah. You can stop explaining. Classified information. Got it.

 **Jumin Han:** But it is a mystery how a complete stranger could end up there.

 **V:** If it's someone who knows the password…

 **V:** It might be someone that Rika trusted.

 **Jumin Han:** Someone Rika trusted?

 **707: ?**

 **Zen: …?**

 **V:** I am only guessing…

 **707:** So then that 'Unknown' person…

 **707:** knew Rika!?

* * *

Then Unknown was sent by this Rika chick? But wait...didn't he mention a savior? The real question was whether or not this savior and Rika were the same person. Because if they were then…

* * *

 **707:** I can't believe she trusted someone more than V.

 **Yoosung:** I don't believe that. She couldn't have trusted anyone more than us…

 **Zen:** That is… a bit surprising.

 **V:** It's hard to believe myself… But we shouldn't assume that we knew everything about Rika.

 **V:** She…

 **V:** had a deep world of her own.

* * *

' _Suspicious…'_ You were being to believe more and more that something was very wrong with this 'Charity'. Why were there so many secrets? Why was V acting so suspiciously? Where had Rika gone? Your curiousity was starting to grow, however so was your sense that there was something dangerous about this whole thing.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** …

 **Jumin Han:** ...Anyways. V, continue.

 **V:** If I am right.

 **V:** Mi-Cha being at her apartment right now…

 **V: Rika must have wanted that.**

 **Jumin Han:** Rika called in a complete stranger from up in the sky?

* * *

' _The sky?_ ' you wondered. Does that mean that Rika was dead? That must've been what Jumin meant. So you guessed that also ruled out Rika and the savior being the same person. But if she had died...then why did no one come and clean out this apartment?

* * *

 **V:** I'm not saying she wanted Mi-Cha to be there… but maybe…

 **V:** Rika wanted someone to do the work she did before.

 **V:** At the place that she worked before.

 **Jumin Han:** What…?

 **Zen:** No way...

* * *

That seemed a bit far-fetched. You knew for sure that you had been specifically chosen for this job. Unknown had confirmed that he had scouted you to find these documents. But as far as doing a dead woman's job and working with a charity group… That was certainly nothing you were interested in. You had your own problems to deal with right now. You couldn't be bothered to try and fix someone else's.

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** The work Rika did before…

 **707: HOSTING PARTIES?**

 **Zen:** You mean Rika's party.

 **Yoosung:** Do you really think...that Rika planned this?

 **Yoosung:** If she made that decision when she was alive…

 **V:** That's my guess… but yes.

 **V:** Since she didn't leave a will.

 **V:** According to the information that Luciel provided, MC doesn't seem dangerous.

* * *

That was the second time you saw that name Luciel. You had just assumed that it was this 707 they were referring to. Jaehee was right, though, it was a peculiar name. Who names their child after the Devil? Someone who hates their kid that's for sure.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** I'm not sure about this to be honest…

 **V:** Besides… she's basically in the same boat now that she knows about this messenger app.

 **V:** Whoever she might be.

 **707:** But still…

 **Zen:** If that's what V thinks…

 **Zen:** I'll agree to it but I don't feel good about it…

 **Jumin Han:** I still can't understand or agree with this.

 **Jumin Han:** I don't understand… why you would even make that guess.

 **707:** If it's what V thinks, I won't oppose it.

 **707: Mi-Cha must be going crazy with how things are going rn lol**

* * *

And that ladies and gentlemen was the understatement of the fucking century. Like were these people even going to ask if you wanted to help out with this charity thing? They just assumed that since you broke in you wanted to be here?! Well, newsflash you didn't!

You were beginning to wonder if Unknown had been right. If you really didn't have a choice anymore…

* * *

 **Yoosung: ...I think I'm going crazy.**

 **Yoosung:** I can't believe there was something I didn't know about Rika…

 **Zen:** Yeah… You two were really close.

 **Jumin Han:** Not as close as V was.

 **Yoosung:** …

 **Zen: …**

 **Zen:** **Jumin you jerk, how could you be so harsh on Yoosung;;**

* * *

That was a little mean. But you couldn't say you disagreed with Jumin. Compared to a fiance, a cousin wouldn't be as close to you —Unless your cousin was you fiance...but then you'd have some other issues going on there.

 **[Who the hell is Rika?]**

 **[I just came here to find the owner of the phone… What is going on…]**

You already kinda knew who Rika was so…

* * *

 **MC:** I just came here to find the owner of the phone… What is going on…

 **707:** Owner of the phone?

 **707: You were phished lol**

* * *

You frowned. What 707 said had struck a nerve. YOU. WERE. NOT. PHISHED. You had tried everything in your power to avoid going to this apartment and everything single time this app —whatever the hell it is— would foil any attempt you made. You had exhausted every option and this guy thinking you were some gullible idiot was insulting.

What he not able to read your note? Could he not read it? Clearly, if he had he wouldn't have said that.

* * *

 **707:** According to V's guess, Rika… the person who used to live there

 **707:** had the person 'Unknown' convince u to go to the apartment.

* * *

"And that idea is total lunacy!" You yelled. If they had met Unknown —If they had talked to him like you had, they wouldn't have thought this. Unknown was not a good person. He was using you as pawn. He said so himself and there was absolutely nothing altruistic about this. You were ninety-nine percent sure that this Rika never used Unknown to send you to her old apartment. And if she had… then she wasn't a good person either.

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** Wait…

 **Jaehee Kang:** I understand… that everyone values V's opinion.

 **Jaehee Kang:** But…

 **Jaehee Kang:** This chatroom is strictly prohibited to strangers.

 **Jaehee Kang:** If I may say so, I think that we must verify what Mi-Cha has said.

* * *

Finally someone was thinking logically.

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** For all we know, Mi-Cha could have simply made up that 'Unknown' person.

* * *

"Bitch, I did not make him up." Like you could see how she would think that… But if you were able to really tell them what was going on they wouldn't think you were making this shit up. In actuality, they would all probably think you lost your mind like Unknown had. That was the sad thing about all this because even if you were able to talk to them without the script, you still couldn't say anything about the time loops without sounding crazy.

You were still alone in all this. And none of these people would help you if they knew the full story. It was a sobering thought. And you felt the weight of it crushing you to the floor. You needed to sit down and so you did sinking into the leather sofa with a tired sigh.

"I just wanna go home," you cried resting your chin on your knees, " ...I wish I could remember where home was? Why c-can't I remember?"

* * *

 **707:** I feel like Jaehee's glasses are glinting right now.

 **Jaehee Kang:** ?

 **V:** Thank you for your opinion, Jaehee.

 **V:** But right now, I would appreciate it if you could trust me.

 **V:** If Mi-Cha is not to be trusted, we can deal with it then.

 **Jumin Han:** Hmm.

 **Jumin Han:** I don't agree with you… but I'll follow your decision.

 **Jaehee Kang: If that is what Mr. Han thinks, then I will accede as well.**

 **707:** Now then~

 **707:** Shouldn't we… explain to Mi-Cha about Rika and the RFA?

* * *

Blinking away stray tears from your eyes you tried to focus on what was going on with the chatroom. You couldn't have cared less about Rika and the RFA. You couldn't have cared less about any of it. But you wanted some kind of explanation. And for whatever reason, this app wanted you to be in the apartment. It wanted you to get close to these people. To know them.

 **[I'm not really interested.]**

 **[Please explain.]**

* * *

 **MC:** Please explain.

 **Zen:** Okay.

 **Zen:** Rika is…

 **Zen:** V's old girlfriend, and the person who created this chatroom.

* * *

Wait...You thought 707 created this chatroom?

* * *

 **Yoosung:** Rika hosted parties regularly for a good cause.

 **Yoosung:** She organized a group called RFA to plan the party and manage participants.

* * *

 **[A party?]**

 **[Good cause?]**

* * *

 **MC:** A party?

 **707:** **Ya.**

 **707:** Rika

 **707:** founded the organization called RFA four years ago and hosted two parties until so far.

 **707:** The six of us who knew her personally joined the organization and helped her host the parties.

 **Yoosung:** _see photo_

* * *

Yoosung was helpful enough to share a picture of Rika in the chatroom. Although you already knew what she looked like from the photograph on the desk, this picture allowed you to get a full view of her face.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** She was an amazing person…

 **Yoosung:** She always sparkled.

 **Zen:** And Rika…

 **Zen:** is no longer here with us…

 **Zen:** She passed away a year and a half ago.

 **Yoosung:** …

 **707:** Mi-Cha has to know this anyways…

 **Zen:** Anyways, we still haven't gotten over that yet

 **Zen:** so please just keep it to yourself… Mi-Cha.

 **Jumin Han:** I still can't believe…

 **Jumin Han:** that Rika knew she'd pass away and planned all this.

 **Jumin Han:** But I'll just consider it as true for now since V thinks so.

 **Yoosung:** ...I can't imagine… someone else taking over what Rika did.

* * *

Who said you were taking over? You had never agreed to that…

* * *

 **Zen:** But if we continue on like this, there's no need for the party or our organization to continue.

 **Jumin Han:** We don't even know who she is though.

 **Zen: Just the fact that she's in this chatroom makes me trust her a bit though;;**

* * *

Is that so? Because if anything that would've made you more suspicious of the person. Hell, you were already wary of these people and they sure as hell should've been wary of you too.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Not because Mi-Cha is a girl?

 **V:** Everyone… I know that this is confusing. But…

 **V:** Maybe Mi-Cha was chosen by Rika.

 **V:** 707 will look into that person called 'Unknown'.

 **V:** So for now, please just believe in me and wait.

 **707:** I guess ur busy right now. Ur replies are really late.

 **V:** Yeah. I think… I have to leave right now.

 **V:** Mi-Cha, it is best not to touch anything in the apartment.

 **V:** It won't be good if the alarm rings.

 **V:** Everything that you have to do… will be linked with this app installed on your phone.

* * *

 **[I thought this is just a messenger app?]**

 **[What do you mean?]**

* * *

 **MC:** What do you mean?

 **707:** This app program is not just a simple messenger.

 **707:** All the party related emails in Rika's computer

 **707:** will be transferred to this app.

 **707:** U'll be able to automatically receive the guests' information as well.

 **707:** And send personal messages to other members…

 **V:** There's no need for Mi-Cha to touch Rika's old things.

 **Jaehee Kang:** All Mi-Cha has to do is use this app.

 **707:** I put in all those features so that Rika could work more comfortably.

 **707:** Glad there's a use for them lol

 **Zen:** **Hey. My messenger doesn't have any email checking thing?**

 **Yoosung:** Mine neither…

* * *

You were sure that your app had a lot of extra features that theirs didn't. Preprogrammed textboxes, being able to control your speech and actions, ect.

* * *

 **Yoosung: Can't my messenger tell me if my LOLOL friends are logged in?**

 **707:** omg

 **Jaehee Kang: … -_-**

 **V:** I'm sorry…

 **V:** But I have to leave.

 **707:** Okay. See u later, V.

 **V:** Jumin.

 **Jumin Han:** ?

 **V:** Please take care of things for me.

 **Jumin Han:** ...Alright.

 _{V has left the chatroom.}_

 **707: ...V's gone.**

 **Zen:** Yep. What's he so busy with?

 **Jumin Han:** None of your business.

 **707:** Anyways, let's do what V said. Mi-Cha, u can log into this chatroom from time to time right?

 **707:** Please log in at times and do what Rika did.

 **707:** All u have to do is use the features in this app.

 **707:** Most of it is just checking emails.

 **707:** Most of the emails will be about people who want to attend the party.

 **Zen:** Yup. And come chat with us regularly.

 **Jumin Han:** Why doesn't everyone stop talking and Assistant Kang summarize everything for her.

 **Jumin Han:** And invite her to the organization.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Alright.

 **Jaehee Kang:** RFA is an organization Rika created so that anyone can freely make donations regardless of class or nationality.

 **Jaehee Kang:** At the time, she hosted quite large parties once every two years, and they were very successful.

 **Zen:** Those were busy days. I thought people were going to trample me.

 **Jaehee Kang:** This chatroom was used to discuss plans for the party.

 **707:** I created this chatroom lol.

 **Yoosung:** Everyone knows that already…

 **Jaehee Kang:** Because this chatroom contained a lot of information that cannot be publicly released

 **Jaehee Kang:** the app was distributed in secret only for RFA members.

 **Jaehee Kang:** But ever since Rika passed away, we have not hosted a single party

 **Jumin Han:** Yeah… not a single one.

 **Jumin Han:** We wanted to, but without Rika, we couldn't proceed.

 **Jaehee Kang:**...And this chatroom became a place for us to talk about personal matters.

 **707:** We check that everyone's alive with this chatroom and literally just chat.

 **Yoosung:** We shared our memories of Rika too.

 **Jaehee Kang:**...Mi-Cha, I think you were led to that place without any explanation.

 **Jaehee Kang:** If V is right, it seems that someone sent you there to fill Rika's position.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Considering that you knowing about the existence of that place satisfies the conditions for joining the organization, following V's orders…

 **Jumin Han:** Fyi, currently there are six members. Me, V, Zen, 707, Yoosung, and Assistant Kang. Everyone in the chatroom.

 **Zen:** If Mi-Cha joins, it will be seven.

 **Yoosung: Is she… really becoming a new member?**

 **Jumin Han:** We didn't hear from Mi-Cha yet.

 **Jumin Han:** Mi-Cha?

 **Jumin Han:** All we are trying to do is host parties, raise funds, gather people… and things like that.

 **Jumin Han:** ...You will never regret joining.

 **Yoosung:** I thought Jumin was against her. Why the sudden change?

 **Jumin Han:** I am only following V's decision.

 **Zen:** **If you join the organization, we'll be able to talk more. Not everyday we meet a pretty girl.**

* * *

" _It's not everyday you see a face like mine…"_ That's what he had said. Not every day. He was right, it was every other day.

* * *

 **707:** Uhm. How do you know she's pretty? I didn't even send the photo.

 **Zen:** SEND THE PHOTO.

 **707:** No.

 **Zen:** Damn.

 **Jumin Han:** Men will be men.

 **Zen: And you're not a man?**

 **707:** Heard somewhere Jumin's gay.

 **Zen: Omg…**

 **Zen: Go away. You scare me.**

 **Jumin Han:** Not even worth responding to that.

 **Yoosung: But Zen, you have really low standards. You still care for looks?**

 **Jaehee Kang:** Famous people must not act that way.

 **Zen:** Gosh~ I'm not famous~

 **Jumin Han:** EVERYONE STOP MESSING AROUND.

 **Jumin Han:** I was talking?

 **Jaehee Kang:** I apologize.

 **Jumin Han:** **Mi-Cha, will you join the RFA?**

* * *

 **[I'm not interested.]**

 **[Alright. It looks fun. I'll give it a go.]**

 **[What do I get if I join?]**

* * *

 **MC:** I'm not interested.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I understand your position.

 **Jumin Han:** Convince her.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Me?

 **Jumin Han:** Ya.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Please refrain from using abbreviations. It becomes a habit.

 **Jumin Han:** Stop nagging me and convince her.

 **Yoosung:** I'm sure even Jaehee would have refused. We might seem really suspicious.

* * *

They did.

* * *

 **Zen:** One vote on we seem creepy

 **Yoosung:** 222

 **Jaehee Kang:** 3

* * *

"Four," you said.

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Don't vote on things like this.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Mi-Cha, we may seem suspicious, but we are not strange people at all.

 **Jumin Han:** Except for the cat abuser 707, everyone's pretty normal.

 **707: I want to play with ur cat again.**

 **Jumin Han:** Don't ever come to my house. You're prohibited. I'll notify my security.

 **Jaehee Kang:** If Mi-Cha becomes an RFA member, we might be able to host parties again.

 **707: Why~**

 **Jumin Han:** What do you mean why. I have to protect my dear family.

 **707: But I was so loving to her.**

 **Jumin Han: GET LOST.**

 **Jaehee Kang:** Please help us.

 **707:** Ouch. That was harsh T_T

 **Jumin Han:** Ok then.. **Please disappear.**

 **Zen:** That was nicer.

 **Jumin Han:** Don't come near my cat please.

 **Jaehee Kang:** If you do not join our organization, we will be in trouble.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Since even if you leak the information in Rika's apartment, there will be nothing we can do.

 **Jaehee Kang:** To prevent that from happening, we could sue you for trespassing on Rika's apartment and resolve everything...

* * *

They could do that. But jokes on them because you doubted Mi-Cha had any money. Besides if it did come to that you would plead insanity and coercion. You were sure there was security footage of Unknown following you to the apartment. And because they had no idea what he looked like, 707 wouldn't be able to delete it before the trial.

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** But I think it is right to give you the choice of joining the organization and solve everything peacefully.

 **707:** Ya, If we get to sue u, u won't be able to use this chat record as evidence. We have the ability to delete everything lol.

 **707: We'll delete everything and just save whatever that helps us. ^^**

 **Jaehee Kang:** If you cooperate, I will do my very best to help you work without any confusion.

 **Jumin Han:** I think she gets the picture now.

 **707: So just register her now?**

 **Jaehee Kang:** THEN… WE WILL CONSIDER IT THAT YOU HAVE AGREED.

* * *

No. No. No. You have not agreed to anything. You would prefer it if they sued you.

 **[Wtf…]**

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** ^^

 **Yoosung: Aren't we forcing her too much?**

 **Jaehee Kang:** We will help her if she agrees and sue her if not, so we did give Mi-Cha a choice.

* * *

Sure, they gave you a choice. But this app did not.

* * *

 **Yoosung: ...I guess?**

 **707:** Good. I've registered her as a member! Oh. We don't really need ur signature.

 **Yoosung:** You're going to collect all the info so she can't run away, right?

 **707: ^^... Since it's a verbal contract.**

 **Zen:** ...Don't collect anything without Mi-Cha's permission.

 **707:** Ya.

 **707:** I'm gonna leave a sec. Need to check sth.

 **Zen: Background check on MC?**

 **707:** Nah~ It's work. I have to make a living somehow.

 **Yoosung: Stop it. You get paid enough.**

 **707:** How do u know how much I get paid?

 **Yoosung:** **I saw your new car on fb…**

 **Yoosung:** _see photo_

* * *

You were still trying to wrap your head around what just happened that you barely noticed the screen-shot of 707's new car. They all just blackmailed you into staying. The app didn't give to a choice to chose whether or not you wanted to stay. And you were stuck here doing what? Oh right, approving a guest list for a charity party.

* * *

 **707:** Oh lol. Did u like the photo?

 **Yoosung: Yup.**

 **707:** Good job lol.

 **707:** I'm gonna peace out.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Well, since she has joined, I think everyone can leave if they need to.

 **Zen:** Yeah?

 **Jumin Han:** Hmm. Let me check my schedule…

 **Yoosung: Okay.**

 **707:** Anyways, welcome Mi-Cha.

 **Yoosung:** Welcome! Good luck to us.

 **Zen:** Glad you joined, Mi-Cha ^^

 **Jumin Han:** We'll see how you do.

 **Jaehee Kang:** For now, I look forward to working with you.

 _{Jumin Han has left the chatroom.}_

 **Zen:** Oh… By the way

 **Zen:** I had a good dream last night. I think I saw you there…

 **Zen:** Or not. Bye-!

 _{Zen has left the chatroom.}_

 _{707 has left the chatroom.}_

 _{Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.}_

 _{Yoosung has left the chatroom.}_

* * *

It was too much to hope that Zen was aware of the resets. You knew that. And yet you couldn't help that tiny flicker that ignited in your chest. He couldn't have known the effect his words had on you. He couldn't have known that he did, in fact, see you in his dream. It was only a line. A flirt that held as much playfulness as it did the last time.

" _Now who's full of themselves…"_

You shivered still feeling his presence beside you. He wasn't there. You had to remind yourself of that. You could faintly make out the smell of this cologne; sandalwood and pine. Not there!

Snapping your eyes open, you violently shook your head back and forth. You needed to focus. This wasn't the time to get caught up in your memories —however few they may be. You needed a plan of action. Logging out of the chatroom, you were taken to the app's home page.

It was a simple, user-friendly interface. There were three main buttons; the chatroom, the call, and the message. Then off to the side, there were three smaller buttons for your photo albums, your emails, and the guest list. At the very top of the screen were the other members' personal profiles and clicking through them you were able to see their statuses. And above those was a status bar with the time displayed along with two counters. The first was marked with an hourglass and the second was marked with a heart.

You thought that was strange, but you quickly moved on when you started receiving messages from the other members.

 _{1 new message from_ _ **Yoosung**_ _: Mi-Cha! It's me, Yoosung…}_

 _{1 new message from_ _ **Unknown**_ _: It'll be really fun fr…}_

 _{1 new message from_ _ **Zen**_ _: Mi-Cha, it's me, Zen. I'm…}_

 _{1 new message from_ _ **707**_ _: Mi-Cha, it's me, Seven. Tel…}_

You bypassed all the messages from the RFA and opened up Unknown's message. But it only left you with more questions and a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.

* * *

 **Unknown:** It'll be really fun from now on. Enjoy your time with everyone. I'll go get you soon.

* * *

You chose not to respond to it, instead checking the other three messages you received. They were much more friendly.

* * *

 **Zen:** Mi-Cha, it's me, Zen. I'm sure this text is surprising. We can send each other texts through this app.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** Mi-Cha! It's me, Yoosung. So nice to meet you~! I can't believe we have another member… Someone can finally do what Rika did… This must be fate, right?

* * *

 **707:** Mi-Cha, it's me, Seven. Tell me if you know anything more about the hacker. I report things to V. Welcome to the RFA~

* * *

It was only 707's message that you bothered to respond to. However, upon clicking the little 'answer' button at the bottom of the screen you were given two new textboxes. No surprise there…

 **[I want to talk to V myself!]**

 **[Let's partayyyy tonight!]**

* * *

 **MC:** I want to talk to V myself!

* * *

And 707 responded a few seconds later.

* * *

 **707:** Sry V's always busy… U'll just have to leave that to me! lolol

* * *

You tried hitting the 'answer' button again, but this time nothing happened. There were no text boxes, no anything. It would seem that you were only allowed to respond to text once and only after the other person made contact first.

"This sucks," you groaned throwing your head back and resting it on the back of the couch. Taking a moment to sort through the events of everything that had just happened, you thought about everything you had learned about the apartment and the RFA. There was something nagging you about this whole situation. And it wasn't just the app, though it was a major contributor to that topsy-turvy feeling you had. What had you worried was the people you had suddenly found yourself in bed with, sort of speak. You knew almost nothing about any of them and what you did know only made you more paranoid that there was something off about all of them.

You knew one thing for sure, you were going to have to do some more research. Luckily, you had the foresight to pack that bag before you left Mi-Cha's apartment. So it was only a simple matter of going downstairs and picking it up from the front desk. Unknown had left because when you stepped out into the hallway you weren't able to see any sign of him. But still… you had little doubt that he was still watching you from somewhere.

When you returned to Rika's apartment, you were struck again by that odor wafting from the fridge. And you realized that before you did anything, you'd have to give Rika's apartment a serious deep clean or you just wouldn't be able to focus. There was a stockpile of cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink, along with a pair of long rubber dish gloves which you thanked the heavens because no way were you gonna scrub out that fridge without them.

So it was during this task, when you were up to you elbows with something you thought was once cabbage, that you received yet another notification from the Mystic Messenger app.

 _{1 new chatroom:_ _ **Welcome 1**_ _}_

Ripping off the gloves, you tapped the notification and were brought into the RFA chatroom.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** I really want to know what kind of person you are, Mi-Cha.

* * *

 **[I'm a pretty unique person.]**

 **[I'm just an average person.]**

 **[Just one lonely sheep longing for someone's arms.]**

* * *

 **MC:** I'm just an average person.

 **Yoosung: Wow, thanks for answering!**

 **Yoosung:** I'm pretty normal too ^^

 **Yoosung:** I'm not as rich as Jumin…

 **Yoosung:** Next to Zen's good looks no one will look at me…

 **Yoosung:** I don't have a cool career like Jaehee…

 **Yoosung:** And it's not as if I have some extraordinary talent like Seven.

 **Yoosung:** **But I try my best to stay confident. ^^**

* * *

And yet right now he only sounded insecure. You guessed you sympathized with him. You were hardly a confident person at the moment either. You felt unsure of everything. Were you making the right decision in coming to the apartment? Seeing as the game hasn't reset yet… You guessed you had. But now you were stuck with the daunting task of figuring out what move to make next and you were so scared. What if the game resets again? What if you find out you can't get the help you desperately needed? What if your memories never come back? And by far the scariest question was what would you do if the the game didn't reset and you were left living a stranger's life?

You hated to think that you would be stuck in this strange half-light world for the rest of your life.

 **[It's nice to see that you're positive.]**

 **[So what.]**

* * *

 **MC:** So what.

 **Yoosung:** What?

 **Yoosung:** Oh…

 **Yoosung:** T_T

 **Yoosung:** **You're not intentionally being mean, are you?**

 **Yoosung:** I hope I didn't offend you or anything…

 **Yoosung:** I'm not sure what I did but I'm sorry.

 **Yoosung: Could you please be nicer to me?**

* * *

 **[Nope lol]**

 **[Haha I'm joking.]**

* * *

 **MC:** Nope lol

* * *

All of the sudden the chatroom lit up with a bright green heart. Wait...what was that?

* * *

 **Yoosung:** T_T

 **Yoosung:** I want to chat with you often.

 **Yoosung: I didn't get to see the photo, but Seven said you were cute and I believe him..!**

* * *

 **[I'm not really the cute type..]**

 **[Thank you ^^]**

 **[Lol you're gonna be so surprised when you see me in person.]**

* * *

 **MC:** I'm not really the cute type..

* * *

You waited to see if it would happened again, but it didn't seem to.

* * *

 **Yoosung: Still, I like you!**

* * *

How? He didn't even know you.

* * *

 **Yoosung:** I think anyone with a good personality looks nice.

 **Yoosung:** ^^

 **Yoosung:** … I say this but honestly I've never even dated a girl at my school!

 **Yoosung:** If only I could visit Rika's apartment, I'd be able to meet you…

 **Yoosung:** ...But V told us not to go and I can't disrespect him. T_T

 **Yoosung:** **So please chat with me often ^^**

 **Yoosung:** I'll be off now to play games!

* * *

 **[What games?]**

 **[Have fun~]**

* * *

 **MC:** What games?

 **Yoosung:** I play a game that is popular these days which is called LOLOL.

 **Yoosung:** Have you heard of it?

* * *

You hadn't.

 **[LOLOL? Ludicrous Otaku and Lego Otaku's Life?]**

 **[LOLOL? League of Loneliness of Life?]**

Both of those choices sounded like complete gibberish to you.

* * *

 **MC:** LOLOL? Ludicrous Okatu and Lego Otaku's Life?

 **Yoosung:** ..What?

 **Yoosung:** Ludicrous Otaku? Lego Otaku?

 **Yoosung:** What's that?

 **Yoosung:** **?**

 **Yoosung:** Oh… Maybe you like Lego..? ^^;

 **Yoosung:** I have some I used to play with as a kid. I'll give them to you if I get the chance.

 **Yoosung:** I'll be off now. ^^

 **Yoosung:** Don't stay up too late and sleep tight~!

 _{Yoosung has left the chatroom.}_

* * *

That was weird. Why did that heart show up all of the sudden? That was the first time that had happened and it made you curious. Clicking to log out of the chatroom you were given confidentiality agreement to sign and in that agreement, you saw the heart and hourglass counters.

 **HEARTS +1 HOURGLASSES +0**

Okay…

You didn't know what it meant. Nonetheless, you decided not to question it as you logged out of the chat. Then immediately after logging out, your phone started ringing in your hand. Swiping right you answered it.

"Uhm... _hello?_ "

"Rrrrrr...Rrrrrr...Your bank account has been used for a fun prank," said a man's heavy accented voice.

"My bank account?" You repeated.

"Were you aware of this?"

"No. No, I wasn't," you told him. You didn't even know what your bank information was, much less how to access it.

"I must first confirm your cell phone number to verify your identity so please calmly follow the instructions," the man said.

"Okay…"

So you waited for the man to ask for your phone number. You waited...and you waited —It was about ten seconds of silence from the other end before you realized what was going on. Looking at your phone's screen you saw the two textboxes, the same kind of textboxes that had appeared when you were talking with Unknown. Oh no…

 **[Oh my god, what should I do? Do you want me to press my number? Or tell you? What prank was it?]**

 **[I'm going to hang up—]**

You picked the second option and like before the words came rushing out of your mouth without your control. "I'm going to hang up—"

"NOOOO! You're so cold!" The man's voice had drastically changed in an instant. Rising from a low pitch to a higher and more believable one. "I just called to check your number! Don't hang up! It's me, Seven!"

As in 707?

The man you now knew was 707 chuckled nervously. "Anyways," he said," I checked your phone number so I'll let the other members know! Now if you get a call from this app, you'll see the faces of our members so try talking to them! You'll be seeing them often from now on. Please take good care of the RFA, okay? Looking forward to it! Then bye bye!"

"W-wait!" You tried to get out, but 707 had already hung up. You wanted to ask him if he had read the message you had tried to give him. Seeing as he didn't mention it, you assumed that he didn't. You looked over at the security camera blinking on the wall, then at the sign you had left on Rika's desk. Should you try again?

You couldn't see any harm in it, so walking across the desk you picked up the manila folder and propped it up on the kitchen island in full sight of the camera. You made sure it would stay in place before you returned your attention back to the mess you were cleaning out of the fridge.

Hopefully, he would see it. Those three words you had scrawled in a black marker, bold and big enough that he would be able to read from the other side of the room. If he read it, he would know —he would know how serious your situation was. The message was this:

 _ **I'M BEING WATCHED.**_

* * *

 _[Reset? Y/N]_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I underestimated how long the prologue chat was. lol. So it made this chapter about the same length of the previous 3 combined. Thanks to all of you who've followed, favorited, and left reviews on this fic. This will probably be the last chapter I can get out for awhile, b/c in 3 weeks I'm going to be taking a temporary job away from home & I won't be taking my laptop with me to post new chapters. Until then thank you guys so much for reading & I'll see ya next update!


	5. Day1:1000 HRS: Resets 3

_"_ _...Born to hustle, I'm a product of environment. The game done changed, so I've been forced into retirement. But I make moves and I paid dues and I got common sense. Since I can't lose and I can't choose, then I'll come back to spit. I got hit songs but I've been gone so long that I don't fit. Kneeled at the throne, but can't get on, so I need me a lick. I write these songs, but don't belong. I'm on some other shit. I'm huntin' leads in desperate need —I hope it's coming quick. I'd rack my brain to find a lane that's gon' bring me some change. But it's so strange, my life has changed and I am not the same. I come around but since I'm down, it feels uncomfortable. I try to hide it deep inside, but I'm dysfunctional…"_

Tech N9ne|Sickology 101|Dysfunctional

* * *

 **DAY 1|1000 HRS|RESETS: 3**

* * *

The mind is a confounding thing. Have you ever thought about it? Right now —at this very second—there billions upon billions of neurons sending information between each other. Your mind never stops working, not even for a moment. You were always thinking, whether voluntary or involuntary, and that's why it came as no surprise that sometimes your brain would get a little off-kilter. It was a machine, a phenomenal machine, but a machine nonetheless. And like all machines sometimes they needed a little reboot.

...At least, that's what you hoped.

You almost didn't want to believe it at first. That maybe, this whole thing was just inside your head. But as you waited in Rika's apartment, waited for the app to inevitably reset, you were struck with the thought that maybe it was all you. And as night slowly became day and the first glimmer of sunlight came filtering through those large floor-to-ceiling windows, that thought was cemented into your brain.

You had spent that majority of the night cleaning all the dust bunnies and moldy food out the apartment and researching whatever you could on Noogle about what you were experiencing. You read pages and pages of science blogs and news articles until you stumbled across this article in a medical journal out of the UK. It caught your eye because the subject had claimed he was living in a time loop. He said that he was reliving the same day over and over again and it got to the point that he had dropped out of college and even stopped watching television because he felt like he already saw it all.

You had trouble making sense of the medical jargon, but from what you could understand the man suffered from something called in layman's terms Chronic Deja Vu. When most people experience deja vu, it last only for a couple seconds. It was a phenomenon contributed to the misfiring of neurons between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. One side of the brain would be processing information must faster than the other and that was what created this looping effect. And a prolonged experience of this could be a sign of seizure, hemorrhages or a chemical imbalance.

Once you learned that, it was only a matter of getting the address of the nearest hospital and asking them to run a full examination on yourself. They'd been running tests for the last 3 hours and every single thing was coming back clear.

"Ms. Pak," the doctor greeted you stepping into the private examination room. He was a seasoned MD and you trusted his over 25 years of experience to be able to spot anything remotely unusual about you. You watched him expectantly as he hung up the scans of your MRI and flicked on the light, illuminating the images so they were easier to see.

Turning on his heels, he regarded you grimly. "I'm sorry to tell you this," he said, "but there's absolutely nothing physically wrong with you."

"But that's not possible," you argued, "What about my memory? There has to be something..."

The doctor was at a loss and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. But there's nothing. I don't know why you lost your memories, but if it had been some kind of head injury or seizure or something...the X-rays, CT scans, and MRI would've caught it."

You stared at the MRI scans for a moment as you processed this. There was nothing. Really? You had trouble believing that, even after all the tests. The doctor waited patiently for you to say something. But what could you say? You had told him the whole story —at least the bits of it you could make sense of. Perhaps there was something wrong with the machines...Although, you knew that was very unlikely.

It felt like someone was squeezing your heart, gripping it tightly in their hands until it clenched painfully. It hurt. It hurt so bad. You felt helpless and isolated. "Then what do you suggest I do?"

He sighed. "You said you repeated the same night, three times, correct?"

You nodded.

"And that you have no memories before last night?"

"Yes."

"And you feel like you're a stranger in your own body?"

"Yes."

He hesitated, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Then perhaps," he said, "you need to start looking at other solutions to your problem?"

You didn't quite understand what he was getting to. You waited for him to explain, but he only seemed to become more uncomfortable the longer your silence remain. You leaned forward, the exam table paper making a crackling noise, and regarded him plainly. "You mean like a specialist?"

"No, I mean a physiatrist," he told you.

And just like that any hope you had of him taking you seriously was snuffed out of existence.

"Oh…"

He thought you were crazy. Of course, he did. Any sane, logical person would. Hell, even you thought you were crazy which is why you came to the hospital, to begin with. You had been hoping that there was a medical explanation to your problem. It would've been so much simpler, so much more straightforward. Get a few scans, identify the problem, a possible surgery, and then some pain medication. But a physiatrist meant the solution would be complicated. You were sick of complicated. Why couldn't something be simple?

"Look I can recommend someone who's used to more abnormal cases," he offered, "He's very good." His eyes shown with genuine sympathy and you could tell that he thought he was being kind.

But he wasn't.

You supposed you couldn't blame him. It's not like he would understand it. And you tried to pretend it was okay, like each second it didn't feel like someone was slowly sucking all the air out of your lungs. Like you could breathe when all it felt like was drowning.

He wouldn't understand and the sad thing was you honestly never expected him to. If you were being honest with yourself, you had expected this reaction. But it was that hope —that stupid spark of light, light that would've shown you the way out of this abysmal place you had found yourself in. However, it was only a spark. And that spark died within seconds of its birth never catching flame, never illuminating your path, it just died leaving you in the dark.

It was right at that moment that you thought about giving up. You thought that maybe you should just go back to Rika's apartment and down all those bottles of wine, you had found in the pantry. You thought about curling up in that nice soft bed and going to sleep until you woke back up out of this nightmare. But you knew that if you did that, there would be no escaping and the only waking you would be doing would be at Mi-Cha's apartment.

"Yes...uhm...If you don't mind, Doctor, I would love to have his contact info."

The man gave you his colleague's business card, patting you gently on the shoulder. A smile here. A nod there. Keep pretending. Don't cry.

"Good bye, Sir." It took all your mental fortitude to be able to walk out of that hospital. Your legs felt unsteady beneath you. It was almost like floating. You couldn't feel your feet moving you down that long hospital corridor. You couldn't hear the ambient noise of the various machines and nurses talking or the orderly wheeling a patient past you in a wheelchair. It was all a muted hum in the back of your mind, drowned out by your thoughts chanting over and over again — _'you're alone. Alone. Stupid. No one is gonna help you. Dumb. Stupid. Alone…'_

Sometime during the morning, a storm had begun to roll in turning Seoul into a dreary overcast and unbearably humid place. Gone was that carefree atmosphere that you had seen last night. Gone were the people laughing and drunkenly stumbling on the sidewalks. In the morning light, you were faced with a much harsher reality; a crowded sidewalk, crowded with people on the way to lunch or back to whatever cubical they had come from. There was an endless sea of umbrellas and trench coats and a few unlucky ones who had forgotten to pack an umbrella were shielding themselves from the steady downpour with a folded newspaper over their heads as they sprinted to the closest cover.

You stood there just outside the hospital entrance for some time, the rain pelting the metal overhang with a steady hum, watching the throngs of people scurry up and down the street. You watched the nondescript silver taxicabs stop and pick up some of them; their wheels splashing up puddles of rainwater as they drove away from the curb. And you thought to yourself how strange everything was. It all felt like a dream. Like the people and the rain and the cars were only figments of your imagination. They didn't seem real. Nothing did.

In your hand, you still held the card that the doctor had given you. A little crumpled from how tightly your fingers at clutched at it, so tightly like that one piece of paper was going to keep you from floating away. So you turned it over and read the finely printed silver script of Dr. Lee's business card. And it was with vague sense of direction you stepped out into the rain and climbed into one of those silver taxies mumbling the address to the driver and slouching back against the seat and watching the buildings pass by in a blur a gray and steel.

Dr. Lee's psychiatry practice was only a few blocks over. Located close enough to the hospital that you probably could've walked there and you would've, had you known that. A little rain be damned. It would've saved you that 12,000 won you had to charge to your credit card. But you supposed it didn't matter much in the end. Even the hospital bills you just racked up would in all likelihood disappear as if they never happened. Because they wouldn't have or at least you hoped that would be the case.

You found yourself half wishing for a reset to happen and fearing that it would and half wishing that it wouldn't and fearing that you would have to pay the debts you had racked up. It was such a contradictory feeling and you didn't quite know what to make of it.

The waiting room was all warm browns and neutral beiges with two long leather sofas stretched out along the walls. On the wall hung a photograph of a white sandy beach and turquoise blue water stretching out to the horizon where the sun was setting casting the sky into an array of golds and oranges. What really drew your eyes to it wasn't the vibrant colors of the sunset nor the calming stillness of the ocean, it was the woman standing on the sand. The photograph had been taken some distance away so you couldn't make out much more than her silhouette and the halo of golden hair illuminated by the dying sun's rays, and yet you felt some kind of kinship toward her. She was staring at her feet as she waded into the surf, her white summer dress held up as to not get wet. And for a split second, you could've sworn that it was you and not her that was standing in that surf trying not to get wet.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

You jumped startled. Turning around to see the receptionist returning from down the hall with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. She was a middle-aged woman with dark black hair twisted up into a professional bun and dressed in a mustard yellow pencil skirt and white button-up blouse with sheer sleeves. She regarded you with her dark onyx eyes and smiled warmly. And it was then that you realized you had just been standing there gaping like a fish.

"Oh? Uhm...Yes, it's very pretty," you agreed dumbly.

The receptionist took a sip of her tea and nodded. "It was a gift from the family of one our patients," she said, "In fact, that's her in the photo."

"The patient?" You asked leaning closer to inspect it. But you didn't really get to take more than a quick glance before the door to Dr. Lee's office swung open interrupting whatever conversation you were having with the receptionist.

"Mrs. Geem, I need you to set an appointment for this afternoon. I just got off the phone with Dr. Tsoi and he's referring a patient to us that needs immediate attention." He said as he marched down the hall to refill his coffee mug.

Dr. Lee was a man in his late-forties with light brown hair and streaks of gray around the temples. He seemed worn out, tired, like the stress of his job was slowly chipping away at him. He walked with a wooden cane with an intricately engraved silver handle and you saw how he limped slightly on his right leg. And yet he spoke with a kind of enthusiasm that contradicted all of that.

The receptionist, Mrs. Geem, quickly jumped into action with a hurried, "Right away, Dr. Lee." And returned to her desk typing away at her computer.

"It was the strangest thing. He said this woman came in and requested that they run a full examination on her, that she had lost all her memories…" Dr. Lee's voice carried from down the hall steadily growing closer as returned to the waiting room, "But after x-rays and MRIs they could find no cause for her lapse in memory."

"That's very interesting, Sir." Mrs. Geem responded shooting you a curious look. "Okay, I set your appointment. But you have another visitor here."

"Oh…? But I didn't think there were any appointments until noon…" Then he noticed you still standing in front of that photograph and he paused, surprised. "...Mi-Cha?"

 _Huh?_

"Pak, Mi-Cha is that you?" He asked less surprised this time. There was a sense of familiarity with how he addressed you. It made you uncomfortable. For the life of you, you couldn't remember this man and yet he definitely seemed to know you.

"...yes…"

A warm smile spread across his face. "Wow, I haven't seen you since you were about yay-high," he said gesturing somewhere around his waist, "What are you doing here?" He leaned forward and gave you a brief hug and you not knowing what to do only stood there.

 _'_ _Who Is This Guy?!'_

This was too weird. You needed to leave. "I don't know. I think maybe I got the wrong place," you said clutching the business card in your hand, "I'm sorry. I'll just go…" You took a step back away from the wall and prepared to start for the door. Out of all the psychiatrist in this city, you just happened to visit one that knew you…? No. This was a mistake.

"—Wait, just a second, Mi-Cha," Dr. Lee stopped you before you could open the door. "You don't look well. Is there something wrong? It is Hye?"

 _'_ _Hye?'_ It took you a second to recall the name from Jin-Soo's letter and the photograph you still had tucked into your duffel at Rika's apartment. But you didn't recall the name fast enough because out of your mouth slipped a quiet, "Who?" before you could stop it.

Dr. Lee froze at that a look of alarm passing over his face. " _Who?_ " He repeated incredulously. "Mi-Cha do you not know who Hye is?"

He asked the question slowly, and you could see the moment when things finally clicked in his mind. A sort of resoluteness resounded in his tone as he suggested that you come into his office for some tea. You didn't want to. But you found yourself too wigged out to vocalize this and followed, besides a tiny part of you was curious as to who this man was and how he knew you. And just maybe he might actually have something useful to say?

 _'_ _Ah...there's that stupid hope again.'_

Dr. Lee's office was a pleasant shade of green with accents of cream and dark browns. There was a long leather sofa identical to the ones in the waiting room lined up before two large windows and he gestured for you to sit, while he walked across the room to a large bookshelf and picked up a framed photograph from it. It was a couple second later, that Mrs. Geem slipped in with a warm cup of camomile tea. _"For the nerves, Dear,_ " she had said then slipped back out as quickly as she arrived.

You let the warmth seep into your hands and chase away the some of the numbness that had been slowly encroaching on your mind. It grounded you and for a moment you enjoyed the sweetness of honey on your tongue as you took a sip.

"As a rule, I don't treat people that I know," Dr. Lee told you as came over and set the photograph on the coffee table in front of you. You examined it curiously. It was a photo of Dr. Lee with some who you assumed was Hye, but the young woman looked almost nothing like the photograph you had found in Mi-Cha's apartment. The most noticeable difference was the lack of bright pink hair and piercings. This Hye was fairly plain, light brown hair like Dr. Lee and soft purplish-gray eyes —pretty in her own way, but behind all the makeup and such she looked just like the dozens of others you had seen this morning —a stranger.

"...So don't consider me a physiatrist right now. I'm talking to you as your godfather…"

"— _Godfather?"_ You blurted out.

Dr. Lee nodded. "You really don't know who I am?"

You shook your head. "No. I-I'm sorry…"

The man shook his head and made himself comfortable on the sofa. "Don't apologize," he said, taking the photo and placing it on the coffee table. Then he turned to you placing his cane off the side and gestured for you to speak. "Now tell me what you've found out about yourself? I'm assuming you're the patient Dr. Tsoi referred to me, correct?"

You swallowed the lump rising in your throat. "Y-Yes."

"Then go ahead and I'll see if I can help you fill in any gaps," he said.

You hesitated. You thought about Unknown's frightened face in the elevator. You thought about how Dr. Tsoi had basically told you he thought you were crazy. And you were afraid that this man (your Godfather apparently) would react the same way. You thought that if you told him everything —everything, including the not so small detail that you weren't even Mi-Cha—you were afraid that he would pass you onto someone else or worse accuse you of stealing someone's life. You didn't want him to look at you that way. Not this person who was the first to show you any genuine kindness.

"I don't know where to start…"

Dr. Lee was understanding, patting you gently on the shoulder. "I find that the beginning is always the easiest to understand," he suggested. The gesture was filled with such familial affection that it caught you off guard. He withdrew his hand after a moment and sat back in his seat, eyes a little misty, and waited patiently for you to say anything.

You were sure what to make of it. Of him. Nonetheless, you began grow relaxed with his seemingly genuine concern. And you asked yourself if you were willing to shut out this person who was willing to help. You weren't.

So you told him. You told him how you woke up in your apartment with these strange messages from Unknown and lured to Rika's apartment complex. You told him how at first you had refused to go inside (helpfully leaving out the detail that the app controlled both your speech and actions) and how you had tried to run when you sensed something was wrong. And by the time you were describing the first reset, you were beginning to dissolve into a fit of uncontrollable tears.

Dr. Lee listened with rapt attention, consoling you with a box of tissues when you needed it, and urging you to continue when you regained some of your composure. And it took a while. So much longer than you thought it would before you finished your story with the strangeness of the RFA members and the hospital visit earlier that morning.

"...you must think I'm crazy," you sighed dabbing at your puffy red-rimmed eyes.

The man shook his head. "No. I don't."

Surely, he must've been lying. You didn't doubt that, but his expression was so sincere, so open, that you didn't know quite what to think. "So what then? If I'm not crazy, what is this?" You asked.

"I'm not sure…" He looked pensive at the photograph on the coffee table, "But Mi-Cha I've known you since you were a little girl and I would've had noticed signs before this."

His silence persisted a moment longer. "You said you found a letter from Jin-Soo? What did it say?"

"Just that Mom was sick and he wanted me to come home," you told him. "Something about how she didn't remember him?"

Dr. Lee was quiet. Then a small sigh. "I see your mother's condition has worsened…"

"What condition is that?" You wondered.

"Parkinson's," he said and went on to explain, "Dementia is very common with Parkinson's patients. And the longer it goes the worse it gets. Your mother has had it for about twenty years now. So it was only a matter of time before her mind started to go."

That was news to you. You thought that perhaps Mi-Cha's mother had just gotten terribly ill. However, it if was a condition that has been slowly worsening over time, then you wondered why Mi-Cha didn't want to see her mother. From the urgency of the letter, it sounded like she was on her last leg.

"Do you know why I wouldn't have wanted to see her?"

Dr. Lee seemed to hesitate then. You saw how his eyes flickered away from your face as an unreadable expression passed over his face. Then sullen and astute he addressed the question plainly. "Your mother was very strict raising you and Jin-Soo. As far as I know, you had a big fight with her before you left home. Something about you not going to college… To be honest, I only know what Hye told me."

"I see," you paused thinking. It must've been some fight. "And who is Hye exactly?"

"My daughter, your best friend. She used to be one of your mother's students, back when she still taught piano," he answered.

"Did I used to play the piano?" You asked curiously.

"You haven't in a long time," he said. "I believe your last recital was when you were sixteen or so."

You wondered briefly if by chance you could still play. Probably not, considering your lack of memories. And if you did start playing again, it would be like starting over. You continued to ask him a couple more questions about your personal life. What did you do? Did you work? Were you in any kind of relationship? (etc.) Dr. Lee, however, was unable to answer any of these except for your job. And even then all he was able to tell you was that you worked in marketing of some kind. Which at least it gave you something to go off of.

It was after most these blank spots were filled in that you both rounded back to your current problem. You proposed some other theories you researched on Noogle. One was something that involved multiverse theory, or parallel universes, but there wasn't much conclusive evidence on it except it was highly probably of them existing. "I think my head's all wonky," you explained when he asked you why you thought that could be, "It's true that I don't remember anything about myself from before last night, but I do remember some things...Well, it's mostly brand names, ya know? Like Noogle for example. It's weird though because the names I remember don't exist in reality."

Dr. Lee frowned, his brows scrunching together, as he thought about what you just said. "What do mean?"

"Well, for example, Noogle, I could've sworn it was called Google. And some of the of the celebrity names that I remember don't match up." You twisted the used tissue in your hands, your eyes narrowed on your lap. Again that feeling of wrongness started to well up in your chest. There was something not right with this place. Even Dr. Lee felt wrong. For last couple hours he had been a comforting presence beside you as he helped you through all your conflicting emotions, and yet there was something that was unsettling you now as you peeked up at him through your lashes. He leaned a little too close and his eyes, you had noticed, were a little too focused too filled with light for his somber voice. And for the first time, you saw how his hand twitched to reach for his legal pad and pen off on a side table.

"That's very interesting…"

You sat back, putting some distance between you and him. You opened your mouth to speak, but stopped looking at the legal pad. You saw the large black print scrawled out on the first page. Large and bold and messy as if he couldn't write fast enough to keep up with his thoughts. You skimmed over the first couple paragraphs a knot of dread slowly started to tangle itself in your throat.

He a written that you were paranoid. Delusional. That you were 'resetting' as a coping mechanism for the guilt of not visiting your mother. That by creating this problem it would create an excuse for you not to mend the relationship between you and her.

 _'_ _That's bullshit!'_ You wanted to yell. You wanted to get in his face and scream for making you go through all this only to put a label on you. Why did he do that? Why treat you like a person if he was just going to write you off? That knot tightened causing you choke on your words. Suddenly the room felt too warm. You felt like you were suffocating —drowning again, but this time it was anger and not grief. How dare he? At least Dr. Tsoi hadn't pretended. He told you to your face that you were crazy. But Dr. Lee…

"...Mi-Cha?"

—he was an asshole! A two-faced, lying, asshole. No wonder you hadn't seen him in years. You let out a heavy sigh trying to control your voice as you spoke. "Yeah?"

"I'm no scientist, but if you're interested I do have a book that deals with what you're talking about. Hold on," and he stood up from the couch and went back over to the bookshelf taking a hardcover off the shelf and brought it back to you. "It's a marvelous read," he remarked.

You took the book and turned it over reading the title. _The Biggest Lie in Theoretical Physics_? You opened the inside cover and skimmed the over the information about the author Ichijo Kaku. A Japanese physicist and professor of theoretical physics at Sky University here in Seoul. "Thank you…" Your voice was quiet, too quiet it seemed. "I don't want to take up any more of your time...You said you had an appointment at noon."

You just wanted to leave. Fortunately for you, Dr. Lee noticed the clock was 15 til and agreed with your decision to leave. Walking you out of the office saying, "If there's anything else Mi-Cha you can always stop by."

"Okay. I will."

You won't. You never planned to go back to that office again. Dr. Lee hugged you again in the waiting room, to which you responded rather stiffly. And you were relieved when you were finally able to leave. Stepping out into the light drizzle of water, tucking the book under your shirt and jogging across the street to the _Dunkin Coffee._

You just intended to wait out the rain for a bit before walking back to the apartment. However, upon entering the store you were overwhelmed with the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and realized that you couldn't remember the last time you actually ate. It couldn't hurt to get a little something if only to keep your strength up.

Going through the line you ordered a small regular coffee and a 12 count of donut holes. It wasn't the healthiest breakfast or lunch, but it'll do. Then finding a table in the less crowded section of the coffee shop, you took a seat, cracked open the book and began to read.

 _Bzt. Bzt. Bzt._

You winced at the buzzing coming from your purse. You had barely even finished a page! Something you had learned was that the RFA members were constantly using the messenger app. All morning your phone had been blowing up with one notification after another. A new chatroom, a new text message, a missed call —none of which to bothered responding to because well, you honestly couldn't give a single fuck about the RFA. There were more important things to worry about and you couldn't waste your time chatting with those people. And yet you couldn't help taking the device out and glancing at the new notification.

 _{1 new chatroom:_ ** _Jaehee's Expectation_** _}_

You scoffed. _'I know exactly where she can put her expectations…'_

Perhaps it was mean. Maybe you should try to be a little nicer to them. You knew that was the good thing to do —the right thing. They had been kind enough to let you stay at Rika's apartment and hadn't called the cops on you for breaking in. 707 was even looking into Unknown for you free of charge. The only thing that was asked of you was that you attend the chatrooms and respond to their texts and take their phone calls...It sounded simple, easy, and admittedly you wouldn't have had any problem with it had it not been for those stupid text boxes. If you didn't have to give up your free will every time you talked to them you would've been okay with it, however since that was not the case you had decided it was best to stay as far away from _Mystic Messenger_ and the RFA as possible.

* * *

 **Jaehee Kang:** Mi-Cha, the apartment that you are in probably has all the documents relevant to do what Rika did.

 **Jaehee Kang:** The biggest reason why we couldn't host parties anymore was because we did not have access to that information.

 **Jaehee Kang:** But now…

 **Jaehee Kang:** you will be able to access all that information through this app.

 **Jaehee Kang:** If all goes well and you manage to fill in Rika's absence…

 **Jaehee Kang:** we will be able to host parties again.

 **Jaehee Kang:** V has yet to notify us of his decisions on this matter,

 **Jaehee Kang:** but if we can prove that you are a reliable person…

 **Jaehee Kang:** I hope we secure the date for the party soon.

 _{Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.}_

* * *

As much as you hated to say it, Dr. Lee was actually a great help to you. It had been pure chance that you had stumbled into someone that knew you —knew her— and the book that he gave you explained a lot of the scientific details of an idea that you had begun to expect. Time travel it was a fascinating subject. Something that was a popular theme in science fiction. In fact, it was so overdone, so cliche that to learn that not only is time travel theoretically possible, but that you yourself had experienced at least 3 times was hard to wrap your head around.

According to Ichijo Kaku, time travel could be achieved through the invention of man-made wormholes. The specifics are unclear and when he went into the mathematics of string theory you were helplessly lost. So lost that you couldn't even comprehend the quadratic equations, all of them looking the like the same jumbled mess of numbers and letters and weird symbols you had never seen before.

But he wrote something that stood out to you, an idea that sounded so far beyond your comprehension and yet made the most sense to your situation. He said that the mind was the only thing not bound by 3-dimensional space. That your being, your consciousness, was allowed to hop and skip through time and realities. It could take you to the past, dredging up old feelings —memories— as vividly as if you were really there or it could jump to the future, seeing realities that haven't happened or never will happen. Many would simply refer to the latter as imagination. However, Professor Kaku reasoned that it was your consciousness that was the real time-traveler. If somehow mankind was able to create a wormhole, one that lasted long enough to send a person's consciousness through (consciousness because the physical body would neither fit nor survive) and pinpointed the exact place and time of another living person with a mind compatible to their own (i.e. the first consciousness) they would become intertwined and would either merge together as one or the incoming consciousness would overwrite the preexisting one.

Now to you, it sounded a lot like a badly-written science fiction plot. How could you even extract someone's consciousness from their body, to begin with? And if there was a way to do what he proposed, how would you know when it worked? There would have to be some kind of communication between the two points in time. He theorized how quantum entanglement could be the key to communicating between vast distances. But you were unable to understand what quantum entanglement was and halfway through the explanation of it, you had to stop reading because of the sheer amount of information for your brain to process.

You rubbed tiredly at your eyes then let your fingers slip into your hair. There was a sharp pain creeping up by your temples —a headache either brought on from the overabundance of information or the lack of proper hydration— and you massaged them in a vain attempt of relief. Your thoughts were chaotic, a jumbled mess of emotions and memories and vague ideas. You were exhausted both mentally and physically and it was with a sardonic kind of smile that you realized you hadn't slept since this whole thing had started.

 _'_ _...god, how long has it been?'_ You took a minute to roughly estimate how long you've been there. 15 hours or so without sleep, so you felt overdue for a nap. Suddenly you phone vibrated on the table causing you to glance down at the device.

 _{1 New Chatroom:_ ** _Jumin's Curiosity_** _}_

You groaned, pushing the thing away from you. "Oh, fuck off…"

Why couldn't they just leave you alone? You wanted to be left alone. And yet somehow, someway circumstances seemed to be pushing you and the RFA together.

"Uhm… excuse me." You became aware of someone standing over you then; your muscles tensing reflexively. There had been no sound of them approaching you, which you supposed could've had something to do with how distracted you were. Removing your hands from your face and blinking up at the pair of hazy violet eyes, you sucked in a sharp breath of air. Suddenly you felt all the color draining out of your face.

 _'_ _God...this can't be happening.'_

You shouldn't have been as surprised as you were. With how things have been going today having one of the RFA members show up in person wasn't that big of deal. It shouldn't have been that big of a deal. After all, you had run into Zen already (of course that was before you knew who he was) so you guessed it was just a matter of time before you ran into someone else.

Yoosung Kim was young, at least he looked younger than he was. One of those people that possessed what many would call a baby face; large round eyes and slightly rounder, fuller cheeks making him seem more like a teenager than his actual age of twenty-one. He had kind of messy blonde hair strands of it clipped out of the way to keep it from falling on his face and he was wearing the same blue hoodie from the picture with the sleeves pushed up around his forearms. In his hand, he held a to-go cup filled with coffee and the other was gripping the strap of this backpack.

You stared at him for a moment too dumbfounded to find anything to say and he stared back shifting the weight of his pack. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said after an almost unbearable beat of silence. You could tell he was nervous with how his eyes were darting between you face and the floor. "But I —uhm— was sitting over there and I was watching you…" Your face must've made some scary face, because instantly he realized what he said. "I mean no! Not like in a creepy-I'm-watching-you way. I didn't mean it like that. I-I just mean I noticed you and how you looked like you were kinda stressed out and I was wondering if —uh— you were okay?"

"Wh—What?" You managed to respond.

"Look I know it's weird to have a total stranger come up and talk to you like this…" Hell yeah, it was weird. Beyond weird. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I-I just...uhm…"

You noticed a deep blush starting to dust his cheeks and you felt a little sorry for him. You weren't completely sure, but it seemed like this poor boy was trying to hit you up. (Failing horribly, by the way.) Nothing at all like Zen, lacking all the charm and finesse he stumbled through a poorly formed excuse he made to talk to you.

 _'_ _Ugh. Why me?'_ You thought. Holding up your hand as a way to get his attention, you decided to put an end to this trainwreck. "Look," you told him, "I get what you're trying to do, but I'm not interested. So please can you just go back to your own table and let me drink my coffee in peace? I really don't want to be bothered."

Yoosung snapped his mouth shut, ears turning a bright red. "I-I wasn't flirting with you," he stammered, "I just wanted to give you this." And then much to your confusion, he set the to-go cup of coffee on the table. "Mid-terms are hard. I don't know if you're a student or not, but it looked like you needed an extra boost. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

You stared dumbly at the cup, then at the boy, then the cup again. "...Thank you."

Yoosung gave you a shaky smile. "It's no trouble," he said, "enjoy your book." Then as suddenly as he appeared before you, he turned on his heals and was heading out of the coffee shop and up the street to the bus stop. You watched him for a long as you could, but eventually losing him in the crowd, messy blond hair disappearing into a bus.

 _'_ _What just happened?'_

* * *

 **Jumin Han:** Hmm.

 **Jumin Han:** I suppose Mi-Cha will be able to reply to all the emails sent to the RFA,

 **Jumin Han:** since she is a Rika's apartment now.

 **Jumin Han:** All the party guests had to contact Rika.

 **Jumin Han: It was her job to convince them to participate.**

 **Jumin Han:** This job is not easy. Will Mi-Cha be able to handle this work?

 **Jumin Han:** I wonder what kind of person she is.

 _{Jumin Han has left the chatroom.}_

 _{SAPPeR has entered the chatroom.}_ **SAPPeR:** U2FsdGVkX18n9MR/5XqxX4YniFwlvKSBG7sMaTfwcwLtI/FVkns0aQKn1EZaWbhLTuQt9Pg6OGMOQkkvg7vDZjJkOuhVw0q6C8Vcl2pWaWMS5XTAZhTx4tyuwQkFPEN

 **SAPPeR:** Virusdetected.

 **SAPPeR:** 0606hasarrived.

 **SAPPeR: mustpurgethesystemimmediately**

 **SAPPeR:** …

 **SAPPeR:** ERROR: insufficient data. itch#18. .789.

 **SAPPeR:** implementing protocol 777756551

 _{SAPPeR has left the chatroom.}_

* * *

 _[Reset? Y/N]_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So I did actually manage to finish this chapter before I left. Goody for you guys. Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. And don't hesitate to ask if there is anything unclear in my writing. I'm totally willing to answer questions.


	6. Day2: 0545 HRS: Resets 3

" _...And I know that you're up tonight thinkin', 'How could I be so selfish?' But you called 'bout a thousand times wondering where I've been. Now I know that you're up tonight thinkin', "How could I be so reckless?" But I just can't apologize. I hope you can understand…I'm fourfiveseconds from wildin'. And we got three more days til Friday. I'm just tryna make it back home by Monday mornin'. I swear, I wish somebody would tell me. Oh, that's all I want..."_

Rihanna, Kayne West, and Paul McCarthy| FourFiveSeconds

* * *

 **DAY 2|0545 HRS|Resets: 3**

* * *

 _{Yoosung has entered chat room.}_

 **Yoosung:** ...What was that?

 **Yoosung:** Hey did anyone else see that?

 _{707 has entered chatroom.}_

 **Yoosung: Seven! Did you see those messages?**

 **707:** ...yeah

 **Yoosung:** Was it the hacker?!

 **707:** I don't know…maybe

 **707:** I was looking into it. But so far nothing.

 **Yoosung:** What do you think it meant when it said there was a virus? And who's 0606?

 **707:** I think maybe it's a program that Unknown wrote into the code. I'm not sure, but I been running virus diagnostics since early this morning.

 **707:** Don't worry sweetie-pie Yoosung. God 707 will figure it out!~

 **Yoosung:** If you say so.

 **707:** I do.

 **Yoosung: I'm just worried about Mi-Cha.**

 **Yoosung:** She's all alone in Rika's apartment  & with this hacker I'm worried she's not safe there.

 **707:** Awww… Is Yoosung trying to be a white knight and protect the princess?

 **Yoosung:** Stop joking around! This is serious. The hacker knows the password. What if he decides to go there and hurt Mi-Cha.

 **707:** He won't.

 **Yoosung:** How do you know that?

 **707:** Because he wouldn't risk it. Not when he's lost the element of surprise.

 **707:** Don't worry too much. I got it covered.

 **Yoosung:** Ok. But do you really think it's safe for Mi-Cha to be there? Even ignoring the hacker I can't help but feel like something bad is going to happen.

 **707:** Honestly, I suggested that she'd be moved. But V said that she'd be safest there until we figure out who hacked the chatroom.

 **Yoosung:** And you're just going to do what he says? You don't think she's safe there either.

 **Yoosung:** I can't understand it. Why does everyone always do what V says?!

 **707:** Yoosung calm down. V has the RFA's best interest in mind.

 **707:** You have to trust that. We all do.

 **Yoosung:** …

 **Yoosung:** Fine.

 **707:** Have you talked to her?

 **Yoosung:** Who?

 **Yoosung:** Mi-Cha?

 **707:** Ya

 **Yoosung:** Not really. I talked to her once right after she joined. But she hasn't been coming into the chatroom since.

 **707:** Oh.

 **Yoosung:** Is there something going on?

 **707:** Nah. I was just curious.

 **707:** I gotta go. Just got more work. Send me a text if you see any more weird messages.

 **Yoosung:** I will. Bye.

 **707:** Laterz

 _{707 has left chatroom.}_

 **Yoosung:** That was weird.

 **Yoosung:** I wonder why Seven asked that?

 **Yoosung:** Mi-Cha please come to the chatroom. Everyone is worried about you.

 _{Yoosung has left chatroom.}_

* * *

The man sat back in his chair rolling out the tension in his shoulders. Then popping his neck and removing his glasses to rub his eyes, he took a brief seconds break. "God, I'm so tired," he sighed half to himself, half in a spoken prayer.

Adjusting his glasses, Luciel turned his attention back to the wall of screens glowing brightly in the dark room. Three of them were dedicated to various code and script readers that were in the process of running diagnostics and deciphering codes. The last in the lower left corner was used simply for the purpose of security. It would filter through different scenes of the cameras he had set up around his apartment and the camera he had set up at Rika's.

He typed a few keys and the screen changed to the gray shapes of Rika's kitchen. Mi-Cha was leaning against the counter stirring something in a ceramic mug. Her long hair was pulled up in a messy bun a couple strands falling out and down her back. She had just woken up, he realized, taking note of the baggy sweats and loose sleep shirt that she wore.

Luciel made it a point not to spy on people when he didn't need to. He always tried to respect the other RFA members' privacy and that included Mi-Cha. But with the unusual circumstances of her appearance he had to push the boundaries of what he was comfortable with looking into her criminal record (which she didn't have) and her private FB page. He hadn't found anything that tied her with the hacker and V was satisfied with that so he didn't need to keep watching her through the security feed. But it was yesterday afternoon just after he had cleared her to work for the RFA, that Luciel having checked the security feed, had seen that note she had propped on the counter.

' _I'M BEING WATCHED'_

What did that mean? Was she talking about the security camera in the apartment? Luciel couldn't figure it out. He had tried calling her, however, Mi-Cha was ignoring him. Next, he was going to lurk in the chatroom and wait for her, but with the new development with SAPPer he couldn't stay long and ended up getting caught up reading hours and hours of code looking for a breach. His conversation with Yoosung both relieved and alarmed him. First, relief because it assured him that he hadn't done anything to scare Mi-Cha off and she was ignoring everyone in the chatroom. And second, alarm because she was ignoring everyone.

' _I shouldn't get so worked up,'_ he told himself. Mi-Cha was probably taking some time to get used to everything. That's the excuse he kept giving himself, albeit, with each missed call, every ignored text, every empty chatroom, Luciel began to believe that there was something seriously wrong with Mi-Cha.

Reaching for his phone, Luciel dialed and waited.

He watched the woman on the CCTV. Mi-Cha dropped her spoon into the sink and took a long sip from her mug. Then turning to face the camera he saw her pick up her phone, read the screen that he knew was showing his name, and then without a hint of hesitation tap her thumb on the screen ignoring the call.

 _Beep._

" _Hi, this is Pak, Mi-Cha! Sorry, I'm busy right now. Please leave your name and number I'll get back to you as soon as—"_

He sighed letting his phone fall limply from his ear. That settles it. She was ignoring him. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why and it irritated him. Why would she write a message for him then ignore him when he called? It didn't make a lick of sense.

"Seven! Open the damn door."

Suddenly he heard Vanderwood pounding on the front door. Switching security feeds, he saw the agent glaring up at the camera with his arms filled with a heavy looking duffle and a couple bags filled to the brim with groceries with a 24 pack of soda under his arm. Vanderwood's brown eyes narrowed then as if knowing Luciel was watching him. "Hurry up," he said, "or I'm going to drop all this Ph.D. Pepper."

At that, the hacker let out another sigh and rolled away from the desk. This was the absolute last thing he needed right now. It wasn't like Luciel disliked his handler, in truth Vanderwood was probably the person he was closest to outside of V, but because Vanderwood was more or less his boss every time he came around it only meant more work for him.

He had enough on his plate and didn't need anymore.

Pausing at the door, Luciel carefully slipped on his cheerful persona. "Mary!" He cheered as the door swung open and swooped down and caught the dangling pack of soda just before it fell.

Vanderwood scowled at the use of that name. " How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?"

Luciel grinned stepping out of the way so the man could get by. "Approximately seven hundred and seven to the nth power," he joked causing the other man to groan.

Vanderwood followed along the dark hallway to the kitchen kicking a dozen or so empty soda cans out of his path. "Would it kill you to keep this place livable while I'm gone. Christ! I just cleaned two days ago and already it's back the way that it was," he complained as he glared at Luciel over his shoulder.

The hacker merely shrugged. "It's perfectly livable," he said, "considering I'm the one that lives here. Besides if I cleaned it, you would have nothing to do when you come over."

"You do realize I'm not your maid."

Luciel didn't respond to that instead plopping the case of soda in the fridge and then taking a chilled can from the door. Besides the soda, his fridge was devoid of anything edible. He only ever kept sodas in the fridge, choosing instead to live off of mostly microwave ramen or his favorite _Honey Buddha Chips_. Admittedly, not the healthiest diet, however for the perpetual shut-in that Luciel was this was all that he needed.

Leaning against the doorframe, Luciel watched as Vanderwood began to unpack his mountain of groceries. Various vegetables and fruits along with some nonperishables found their way into his kitchen, filling up the empty shelves of his fridge and squeezing into the cramped shelves of his pantry. "How long are you staying?" He asked.

Vanderwood was just putting away the last of the items when he turned and gave redhead a frighteningly serious look. "For how long it takes. Smith is getting impatient with you. You know that the deadline is in five days right, you don't have time to be goofing off—"

"Ya. I know," Luciel waved him off.

Vanderwood frowned and crossed his arms. "No I don't think you do," he said narrowing his eyes threateningly, "If you miss the deadline it means both our heads. Smith isn't going to give you or me any more extensions."

Luciel was quiet for a moment while his handler's words sunk in. Then with an almost indiscernible shudder, he asked, "What exactly did he say?"

"That if you don't finish this job you're going to become a liability," Vanderwood told him.

Luciel stared at the rim of the can watching the drop of carbonated soda there fizzle. He thought of everything that was going on with the RFA and Mi-Cha and the work he had to do for the agency. There was no way he could do everything at once. He was just one person and no matter how much he joked to the contrary he was still human. He would have to prioritize.

He would be of no use to the RFA if he were dead.

"I understand," he said without a trace of humor in his eyes. Mi-Cha would just have to wait.

* * *

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

You awoke with a start, practically leaping up and snatching your phone from beside you. For a second you thought you were back in Mi-Cha's apartment; yet when your brain caught up you saw that you had just fallen asleep on that big leather sofa at Rika's. Relief washed over you and falling against the throw pillows you fought to fall back asleep.

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Your phone vibrated in your hands and you opened your eyes staring at the screen. It took you longer than it should've to realize that the device was buzzing because someone was calling you and a second more after that to realize that it wasn't one of the RFA members.

' _Cheong MinHee,'_ you read the symbols glowing on the screen. Who the hell was MinHee?

The device quieted and you saw the notifications pop up on the lock screen for 12 missed calls, 36 new text messages, and 14 new chatrooms. Then the phone started buzzing again a second later. And seeing that it was still the same person, you answered it.

"—Uhm... _hello?_ " Your voice was still scratchy from sleep, but this was not the case with the person on the other end of the call. They were wide awake. So wide awake, in fact, that their booming words almost caused to fall off the sofa in surprise.

"Where the hell are you?" They hissed, "Do you have any idea how much shit you've put me in Pak? The hell-beast is pissed!"

"Uhh— _what?_ " Was your dumb reply.

The woman's voice rose dangerously to a high pitched shriek, "Pak! I swear I better not get fired for you. I had to cover for you yesterday and you didn't even bother to call in? Then you pull the same shit today?"

"Wait. Slow down. I don't understand what you're saying…"

There was a deep sigh of frustration as she attempted to calm down. Then the woman spoke again at little quieter, but no less tense. "At least tell me you finished the mockups? You need to have them before the meeting at ten or it's going to be both our asses."

 _Mockups?_ You swallowed thickly. "Yeah, I'll be there," and after another pause, "stop fucking worrying."

MinHee hummed amused, "One of us has to. Remember ten, don't be late slut."

"Back at you, bitch." You could almost feel her smiling as those words left your mouth and then she was gone. No explanation of which mockups you need. No directions of where the meeting was taking place. And certainly no hint as to who or where you worked.

You checked the time on your phone seeing that it was quarter to nine. That gave you some time to figure out what to do. The first thing you did was look through your purse for a company ID of some kind. Luckily for you, it was tucked into one of the first pockets in your wallet. So sliding it out and turning it over in your hand, you examined the laminated card.

' _Ugh. What a terrible picture…'_ you observed. It was undoubtedly you, or rather her, however, there was something unsettling about it. Perhaps it was the lighting that flushed her face in a sickly fluorescent yellow or maybe the way those dark eyes of hers stared at you—judgingly, almost as if she knew that a stranger would inevitably be holding this in their hands, her hands, looking at it through her eyes—

You stopped yourself from that train of thought. No, there's no way she could've know. Instead, you focused on the text printed on the other side of the card.

 _This is to certify that the individual whose photo and signature hereon is an employee of C &R, Inc._

You paused, then read the text. But the words didn't change.

This was one too many coincidences. There's no way that you work there. You try to convince yourself of this as your eyes skim the personal information on the back. It's then that you spot it, Pak Jin Soo listed under emergency contact along with a cell number. Your stomach drops and you lean forward dropping the card onto the coffee table. "Dammit."

You felt sick. Part of you wonders if you're about to pass out like before. You tell yourself to calm down, to focus on the problem at hand and to your relief it works. The feeling passes as quickly as it came; leaving you gasping, hunched over with your hands clenching the soft strands of your hair until your knuckles are white and your nails leave indents on both of your palms as you pull away.

Next, it was only matter of digging around on Mi-Cha's laptop for a couple minutes and emailing the finished mocks ups to CheongMinHee at C&Remployee dot com Lucking out that Mi-Cha had finished her work on time and also that she was one of those people who saved their passwords to their web browser.

A brief glance at your phone tells you it's now half past. You jump in the shower and go through the motions of getting ready. You hadn't thought to pack any business-appropriate clothing; fortunately, you managed to find some dressier clothes out of Rika's closet; a black turtleneck and pair of maroon dress slacks that fit well with its elastic waistband despite being a bit too long in the legs. You reminded yourself to stop by Mi-Cha's and pick up some more clothes later. Then you were grabbing your purse and keys and was out the door while Noogle Maps loaded up on your phone.

The C&R headquarters was an impressive streamline structure approximately eight blocks away from Rika's apartment. It's glass and steel body towered at least forty stories, if not more, over the Gwanghwamun Plaza. People were walking throughout; mostly tourists it seemed with cameras taking pictures of the Han River which wide banks could be seen from in between the buildings. You climbed out of the cab, slamming the door behind you and rushed to the large glass doors with the sound of Rika's borrowed black pumps clacking against the cement.

If you thought the outside of the building was impressive, the inside completely blew you away with its modern architecture. The ceiling opened up to what almost seemed like lack of efficient use of space overhead and you could see walkways with floor-to-ceiling windows preventing people from falling from them. Located off the lobby is what looked to be a large company cafeteria with a cafe for employees to buy their lunches. And ahead of you, behind the security guard checking people's company Ids, were four glass elevators—You realized you were gawking and immediately tried to school your expression into one of disinterest.

Mi-Cha worked here. She probably saw this place every single day. And, she would not be interested in how tall the ceiling actually is or how ineffective that was to heat. At this rate, someone was bound to catch on that you were not you; if you didn't change your behavior and try to act semi-normal. The tricky thing, however, was that you had no idea what was normal behavior for Mi-Cha and what wasn't. It wasn't like you had any of her memories to fall back on to judge how she would react in situations. No, you would just have to wing it. And wing it you would and hope that you could pay enough attention to nonverbal cues to be able to spot any behavioral discrepancies.

A large directory sign loomed up in the middle of the lobby and you stopped in front of it, eyes scanning the list of departments and their corresponding floors. Dr. Lee had told you that you worked in marketing, or at least he thought so—You weren't totally confident in that information; partially because it came from him and after that horrible therapy session you were reluctant to trust anything that man told you, but also it was obvious that you weren't close. So, how could he know what you did for a job? Still, you figured that marketing was the best place to start not because of what he said, but because the mock-ups you emailed to MinHee were advertisements for an office chair.

' _Marketing —28th Floor,'_ You read and started towards the security guard. Showing him your Id, then rushing to one of the glass elevators, and slipping in as the doors closed squeezing yourself between a man in a crisp navy suit and a woman with curled brown hair.

"Which floor?" The man asked hand hovering over the panel of buttons.

"Twenty-eighth."

The elevator lurched upward and you suddenly got a nervous fluttering in the pit of your stomach. For a second it was like you were back on your way to Rika's apartment. You could almost feel Unknown standing next to you and in an effort to control your breathing and calm yourself down you started to tap idly on your thigh. _Tap. Tap—Tap. Tap. Tap._

The man exited the elevator on the tenth floor, smiling at you and the woman and wishing you both a pleasant day. You responded in kind and stepped closer to the wall to give yourself some breathing room. The woman excited on the twenty-second floor and like the man before wished you a pleasant day as she got off. Your lips twitched up tentatively, "You too."

When the doors finally opened on the twenty-eighth floor, the hallway was empty. You stepped out and looked down each end wondering where you should go. ' _Right or left? I guess I should just pick one…_ ' You thought as you started heading to your right.

The long hallway opened up to a large room filled with cubicles. People were busy at work filling the room with a symphony of keyboards and mouse clicks. You felt out of place as you walked around. You could feel eyes of your coworkers on you. Why are they staring? It felt like any minute someone was going to call you out.

' _That's silly,'_ you thought. They didn't know anything. Just act normal and everything will be fine.

"There you are!"

You turned your head just in time to see a woman approach from one of the cubicles. She was dressed professionally in a skirt and blouse with dyed-blonde hair cut in a spiky bob. You wavered at the stern look on her face, unsure of what to do.

"I didn't think you were gonna make it. Come on, the meeting is starting now," she took your purse and placed it on what you assumed was your desk.

"Cheong?" You asked.

The woman raised one of her thin dark brows. "What is it? God, Pak you look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong? No, nevermind. We don't have time for that. We have to go." She took your arm and led you down the line of cubicles to a conference room. There was a medium-sized group of people milling about waiting for the meeting to begin. MinHee pulled out a chair and sat down at the long table and gestured for you to sit beside her. You did so taking stock of the room.

There were a total of fifteen chairs, but a quick headcount told you that there were only thirteen people present; eight men and five women, including yourself. Most of them were seated around the table talking with their co-workers or looking at their phones. At one end of the room hung a large projection screen and a woman in a powder-blue pantsuit was bent over a laptop setting up a Powerpoint presentation. Except it wasn't called Powerpoint, but E-Present. You stared at the word unable to shake that feeling of wrongness welling up in your stomach.

"Are we late?" MinHee asked the man sitting next to her. He had dark hair slicked back and glasses dressed in a simple grey suit and tie.

The man shook his head. "Naw, you're good. We're just waiting on the boss-man." He glanced up and saw you sitting on the other of MinHee then smiled in that friendly way that acquaintances do. "Hey, Pak. Missed you yesterday," he said.

"Yeah, I was...out," you muttered turning your attention to the stapled stack of papers in front of you. It looked like notes for the presentation. You leafed through the pages not understanding half of what you were looking at. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the man exchanged a confused look with MinHee. But she merely shrugged before delving into idle chit-chat.

At least they weren't paying attention to you. You put down the papers and picked up the pen and notepad next. You began to write down various keywords from the presentation notes to look up later. Keywords like: 301 redirects, SaaS, Churn, KPI, RSS, UX —just to name a few.

It was as you were doing this that someone else stepped into the room. You glanced up hearing the door open and close. You tensed as the familiar woman set a stack of papers down at the head of the table. She looked exactly like her picture. Brown hair cropped short and combed neatly behind her ears, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and wearing a professional black skirt and blazer combo that made her look every bit the secretary of a CEO.

The woman that had been working on the laptop looked up and frowned. "Ms. Kang where is Mr. Han?" She asked.

Jaehee adjusted her glasses and pulled out the chair at the head of the table. "Unfortunately, Mr. Han has had a previous engagement. He won't be joining us this morning. I'll be giving him notes of this meeting, so if you're ready Ms. Gye we can start the meeting now."

Ms. Gye nodded and called everyone's attention to the front of the room. You watched her for a few seconds as she began to go through the presentation. But after a few minutes of listening to her go through the various graph projections and pie charts, you found your eyes flickering back over to Jaehee. She sat there dutifully taking notes. Her eyes glanced between the screen and the notepad every few seconds.

It didn't almost seem real. That she would be there, not a meter from you, acting as if you were complete strangers. You guessed to her that you were. She had no idea of your true identity. Had she known that you were _The Mi-Cha_ , she probably would've pulled you aside to interrogate you. If that happened you weren't quite sure what you'd say. Anything remotely resembling the truth would get you locked up in a psych ward that much you were sure of.

You didn't realize you were staring until Jaehee made eye contact. And at that point, you were sure that she could see straight through you. Her butterscotch eyes bored into you with intensity and for a brief moment, you thought you saw something flash across her face. You tore your eyes away and stared at the notepad in front of you.

' _She knows.'_ You fought the urge to look up. Fear that Jaehee had caught on to your identity through a mere glance had frozen you in your chair. You felt a lump growing in your throat making it difficult to breathe. The room was suddenly too cramped. People were sitting too close to you, their combined body heat making your face flush and your pits start to sweat. Your mind was buzzing with a hundred different scenarios, each one worse than the last.

Suddenly, an elbow jabbed you from the side snapping you back to the present. MinHee was giving you an expectant look and jerking her head towards the front of the room. Ms. Gye had stopped talking and was staring at you waiting for an answer to a question you hadn't realized she asked. You glanced at the current slide reading something about products testing.

"Ms. Pak do you have any suggestions?" Ms. Gye raised one of her perfectly-plucked brows and pursed her lips disapprovingly.

You didn't know what to say. But you could feel everyone's eyes on you. It was too much. You couldn't breathe. You couldn't move. You prayed for a reset at that point. Anything to get you out of there.

This. Was. Hell.

"—What about," MinHee started, "marketing the chairs based on increased productivity. According to the results from products testing, it says users productivity increased by thirty percent."

"But if the chairs are so uncomfortable that no one wants to sit in them…" And just like that, the presentation carried on. Your existence being momentarily forgotten. MinHee gave you a look that clearly said that she wasn't going to let this go.

And, she didn't. As soon as the meeting was over, MinHee grabbed your arm, "Hey, let's get some coffee from the café." She didn't give you any chance to argue and the look she gave you when you tried had shut you up immediately.

The ride down to the lobby was awkward. You stood there nervously shifting your weight. MinHee had let go of your arm and leaned against one of the handrails. She studied you with curious eyes and a slight frown.

"So…"

You raised a brow. "So?"

MinHee pressed her lips together. "How was your weekend?"

"It was fine." Each word was drawn out and calculated. "And yours?"

"Also fine."

"That's...good."

She seemed to be waiting for something. She looked at you expectantly and crossed her arms like a mother about to scold a small child. You flinched and looked away.

"Umm...t-thanks for covering for me yesterday," you said.

"You're welcome." Her tone was cold, each word short and prickly. It felt like you were under a microscope and she the cool observant scientist. She was watching your every move, analyzing your every word and microexpression.

"Did I do something wrong?" You asked her. She scoffed. "Look whatever I did I'm sorry—"

"Where were you yesterday? You didn't call. You didn't text. I tried getting a hold of you and your phone went directly to voicemail. I was worried sick. After what happened on Friday I thought—"

"—Friday? What happened Friday?"

"Are you seriously playing dumb?" Her eyes narrowed. "Last Friday you were doing the horizontal tango with—" MinHee cut off as the elevator doors opened and a group of young interns entered the small space. MinHee stepped closer to you.

It didn't look like she was willing to continue subject with the audience, but you needed to know. Leaning over you whispered, " _With who?"_

But MinHee shook her head. " _Not here."_

" _Then where?"_

" _After work, okay?"_

" _Fine."_ You sighed leaning back watching the numbers count down to the ground floor. The atmosphere was still tense, but slightly less so. And, by the time you both reached the lobby MinHee had become somewhat less intense, but still suspicious of your whereabouts.

You both headed towards the café and waited in line. "So," MinHee started up again, "are you gonna tell me where you were yesterday or do I have to guess?"

You bit lip your lip as you tried to think of a response that would elicit the fewest questions. "I stayed home. I got some bad news and I couldn't focus on coming to work," you said. It was kinda true, even though the biggest factor of you skipping work yesterday was that you were trying to figure out the time resets and memory loss you're suffering from.

MinHee's face showed concern. "What kind of bad news?"

You shifted unconsciously, which MinHee interpreted that as you trying to come to terms with whatever bad thing had happened; and not that you were trying to come up with a lie that sounded believable given Mi-Cha's history and her relationship with her coworker. How much should you share? How much could you trust this person? Considering that she already knew one big secret of yours, or rather _hers_ , and seemed to have kept said secret over the weekend made you trust her a little more. But not enough where you were willing to tell her about the RFA and the hacker—Not to mention the time loops or the doctor visits.

You decided to go with the easiest and most believable excuse. "My mother," you paused to let the illusion of pain seep into your voice, "S-She's dying."

Those two words had the desired effect. MinHee's expression turned to one of sympathy. "Oh, Pak—I'm sorry. Was she sick?"

"She's been sick for a long time. It's just finally catching up with her," you said repeating the information that Dr. Lee had told you.

"Is she in the hospital? Are you gonna go see her?"

"I'm not sure. We—umm—never had the best relationship and my brother and I haven't spoken in a while. I kinda left him to take care of her by himself," you said.

MinHee nodded. "I understand. Me and my family aren't too close either. But if you need someone to talk to or anything, I'm here."

You smiled. "Thanks."

After that conversation, MinHee wasn't so frightening to you. She had paid for your coffee saying something along the lines of you paying her back tonight. Then she filled you in on everything you had missed yesterday which regarding work wasn't much, but in office gossip yesterday had been straight out of a Korean drama.

Apparently, co-worker, Yim Haneul, had found himself in love-triangle with Moon Hyo-Sonn in HR and Che Joobin from the legal department. He had been dating both women off and on in what he thought was mutually non-exclusive. However, neither woman truly believed him when he said he wasn't looking for anything serious.

As one can imagine, when news of the _Other Woman_ came to light neither was too happy about it. And in Joobin's case, resulted in huge blow up where she proceeded to trash Haneul's cubicle with throwing all his papers in the air, smashing his computer monitor on the ground, and drawing penises all over his desk in permanent marker before security showed up and escorted her off the premises, effectively ending her employment at C&R and being charged with vandalism by the company.

"You'd think someone from the legal department would know better," you remarked stepping out of the elevator on the 28th-floor.

MinHee shrugged. "You'd think, but Che was always one broken nail from a Courtney Spears meltdown."

"Courtney?" You repeated confused.

"Ya know, that American pop-singer that flipped out and shaved her head."

' _Ah, she means Britney Spears,'_ you realized. ' _Sad that even in an alternate reality Britney Spears couldn't catch a break.'_ This whole different names-thing was confusing, but you were slowly catching on.

"Anyways, I told Moon that if she was looking for a guy to go steady with her, the last place she should be looking is in marketing. Everyone knows that men working in marketing are total man-whores. Did she learn nothing from Donald Draper? You want a boyfriend, you go to accounting. You want a good lay, you go to marketing—"

"—And if you wanna get shitfaced you go to the mailing room," you added.

"Exactly! See you get it," she laughed.

"What I need is money," you said thinking about your growing credit card charges.

"Then you need to start looking at the executives," MinHee smiled conspiratorially. "I hear the Chairman is divorcing his wife. Maybe you can swoop in there and snatch him up before anyone else does. You could be a May-December romance."

The idea made your nose crinkle up in distaste. "More like May-Ming Dynasty. He's like ninety."

"Sixty," she corrected. "But he has the body of a forty-year-old."

"I don't want to think about his body," your stomach churned at the thought.

"You can't deny though that Mr. Han takes after his dad. That man is **fine**. Any woman that manages to lock that down has won the fucking lottery. Although, I hear he's gay—"

"—What? No," you laughed.

"It's true all the tabloids are saying it. ' _Does Jumin Han Gay?'_ became an international meme."

"Doesn't make it true," you argued. "Getting your news from a tabloid is like asking a physic for life advice."

It was strange how easily you fell into rhythm with MinHee. There were certain people you met in life and you just clicked. MinHee was one such person. She radiated this energy that drew you in letting your guard down bit by bit to the point that you were no longer making a conscious effort to act like Mi-Cha.

"You shut your face! I'll have you know that Madame Ogai was the best life coach I ever had. She was the one who told me to drop that stupid juice cleanse. She told me, 'Life's too short for all that bullshit.' and since that day I vowed that I'd never touch another kale smoothie or deal with anyone else's crap," she said causing you to laugh.

Not to mention, MinHee was funny. You could understand why she and Mi-Cha were friends—

' _That's right. She's Mi-Cha's friend. Mi-Cha's not mine. I'm not her,"_ you reminded yourself of this fact feeling a crushing weight fall on your chest. That feeling of wrongness returned tenfold and no matter how much you tried to ignore it flooded your mind with guilt. You couldn't shake this feeling that Mi-Cha was gone—dead. And, it was with increasing horror that you realized that you— _Yes, Y-O-U_ —had somehow been the cause.

The slight smile that had graced your face a mere second ago fell. You felt sick. You were no longer focused on MinHee, her face becoming a blur of colors all swirling together. You followed her blindly back to the cubicles, sitting down at your desk.

You stared blankly at the dark monitor screen before MinHee peaked her head over the divider. "Hey, you okay?" She asked.

You looked up at her with a strained smile. "Y-Yeah. I just can't remember my password."

"Oh? You wrote them down in a notebook in your locked top drawer," she supplied.

"Right. Of course," you said searching for the key on your desk.

MinHee watched you her face becoming more and more pensive. She sighed and walked around the divider snatching your key ring out of your purse and flipping through them until she settled on a bronze key with a black rubber grip. She handed it to you, "Here."

"Thanks." You took it and unlocked the drawer. Sitting underneath your pencil tray was a small black spiral notebook. You picked it up and flipped through the pages, seeing various email addresses, passwords, and numbers written down in no particular order. You frowned looking up at MinHee.

"What is it?"

"Did I write these down in a system? Everything's all jumbled…"

MinHee raised her brow. "Are you asking me? Cause I don't know."

You shook your head. "No. I didn't think you would," you said then stood up from your chair. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be back."

You didn't give MinHee time to question you, but even if you had you doubted she would. That excuse you gave her with your mother had normalized any strange behavior on your part. Even your forgetfulness could be written off with your thoughts being preoccupied coping with the news. You walked down the line of cubicles, past the conference room, and slipped into the women's restroom.

You walked over to the sinks and turned on the tap, cupping the water in your hands, then splashing it on your face. The cool liquid was soothing against your flushed cheeks. Grabbing a handful of paper towels, you dried your skin as you stared at your reflection. "Pull yourself together," you said clenching the wet paper towels in your hands.

You couldn't keep acting like this. This limbo between normal and one misstep from a panic attack. You told yourself to approach this problem rationally; create a to-do list of what you needed to accomplish and take it one task at a time. Don't think about the future. Don't think about the past. Think about the NOW—the Present. Push everything else aside and don't question what has happened or what will happen.

You felt a lump rising in your throat and you bit your lip to stop yourself from crying. That won't do. You have to be strong. You could not cry. Not here. Not now. You counted backward from a hundred taking careful measure breaths.

Inhale. Exhale. ' _Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight…'_

Buy the time you reached zero, you felt more in control. The panic was still there, but it was gagged and bound and thrown into a cage in the deepest darkest corner of your mind. You smiled weakly at the mirror, then frowned. It wasn't believable enough. You tried it again, this time picturing yourself genuinely laughing at MinHee's jokes. It was better. With practice, you could make it perfect.

You dropped the crumpled up towels in the waste bin and was about to head for the door before it opened and Ms. Gye stepped into the bathroom. The woman stopped in her tracks when she saw you, her dark brows drawing up with interest. "Oh, there you are."

"Here I am," you said as feelings nervousness had started to well up in your stomach. From what you were able to gather from MinHee, Ms. Gye was the head of the marketing department and your direct supervisor. You had tried not to wince when you learned that and already knowing the impression you had made in such a short time— What with clamming up in today's meeting and skipping work yesterday, you knew you were on very thin ice and would most likely be getting a lecture or worse…

You thought it would be better to apologize now and get it over with. "I'm sorry for yesterday. I should've called and let someone know I wasn't gonna be in."

"That would've been prudent," the woman agreed with a purse of her lips. "However, you still finished those adverts in time so I won't fault you too much for it."

"Thank you."

She crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her chin up, and fixed you with an intense stare. "Where were you yesterday?" She asked.

Standing as she was in her powder-blue pantsuit and three-inch heels, she was considerably shorter than you. The top of her head barely reached your eye level—But that look she gave you—It sent a chill down your spine. You knew you couldn't lie. Not to her. "I-I was—umm—at the hospital," you stared down at floor suddenly finding your shoes very interesting.

"Were you sick?"

"Yes." You nodded taking the excuse that she gave you. You still didn't look up feeling like a child being scolded by a teacher. Ms. Gye stepped closer to you until you could see her shoes, a pair of powder-blue pumps with a sort of scale-like design in the material, not far from yours. It occurred to you that she was suddenly standing too close, but you didn't dare step backward not wanting to appear more of a coward than you already were.

Cool fingers trailed along your jaw as Ms. Gye tilted your chin up to look her in the eye. Her expression softened and she looked for a moment slightly hurt. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I—Uh…" You didn't know what to say. The way she was looking at you—how she was touching your face… It was something that felt way too intimate for a supervisor and an employee. You thought back to what MinHee had said in the elevator: " _Last Friday you were doing the horizontal tango with—"_

The realization hit you like a ton of bricks. You jerked back, alarmed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry—I-I can't…" The words caught in your throat unable to say them out loud. This was too much. Too much too fast and you couldn't handle this. "I'm sorry," you repeated for lack of a better thing to say. You didn't look at her face. You couldn't for fear of what you would see there.

You did the only thing that you could do. You ran. Pushed past her and scurried back to your cubicle like the coward you were. ' _Everything. Was. Not. Fine.'_

* * *

Jaehee Kang sat at her desk pouring over her notes from the last meeting with the Marketing Department. The suggestion that they advertise the new line of office chairs based on increased productivity instead of comfortability was, while unethical, a decent suggestion. But she felt that even if they were to market the chairs that way, not many people would buy them because they were so uncomfortable according to the products testing department. It would be better to go back to the drawing board and redesign the chairs or even just scrap the whole project in favor of saving the company hundreds of millions of won.

Beside her, her phone buzzed as a notification that someone had entered the chatroom popped up on the screen. It was Jumin. Of course, he was probably looking to talk to her. She really didn't want to talk to him. Her morning was already stressful enough, what with watching Elizabeth the 3rd and attending all of Jumin's meetings in his place while he was schmoozing future business partners on the golf course. But he was her boss and despite his lack of sensitivity, Jumin wasn't a bad person. Besides, Jaehee needed a break from reading all these analytic charts.

* * *

 _[Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.]_

 _[Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom.]_

 **Jumin Han: Anybody here?**

 **Jaehee Kang:** Umm.. I am;;

 **Jumin Han:** Ah, good. I wanted to talk to you.

 **Jaehee Kang:** What is it?

 **Jumin Han:** Is my Elizabeth the 3rd doing well since I dropped her off at your place this morning?

 **Jaehee Kang:** ...I say this every time but it is not proper to leave your cat with me.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I have a life of my own.

 **Jumin Han:** **Just consider it a part of your job.**

 **Jumin Han:** **Find comfort in the money that goes into your bank account.**

 **Jaehee Kang:** It's not about the pay…

 **Jaehee Kang:** It is difficult for me to accept that taking care of your cat is part of my job.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Moreover, I don't even like cats.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Do you know how much hair she sheds? It gets everywhere.

 **Jumin Han:** I see… Well, if it's the hair that's the problem I'll have my cleaning lady come and vacuum your apartment.

 **Jumin Han:** Although, Elizabeth the 3rd's hair is sacred and shouldn't be treated so blasely.

 **Jumin Han: If anything you should consider collecting it carefully to knit a scarf.**

 **Jaehee Kang:** Fur scarf made out of cat hair? -_-

 **Jumin Han:** Talking about it makes me want to get one.

 **Jumin Han:** I wonder how marketable they would be?

 **Jaehee Kang:** Please do not start a new business project…

 **Jumin Han: Cat-hair fur scarf.. I should look for vendors..**

 **Jaehee Kang:** …

 **Jaehee Kang:** To answer your question, at 7 this morning, I gave your cat some food and nutritional supplements.

 **Jaehee Kang:** At 8 I combed her hair.

 **Jaehee Kang:** At 9 I played hide-and-seek with her using her toy.

 **Jaehee Kang:** That concludes what I have done so far for your cat.

 **Jumin Han:** There wasn't any male cat intruding and making a commotion?

 **Jaehee Kang:** Of course not…

 **Jaehee Kang:** Anyways, please take your cat back at 5 pm sharp.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I have family visiting this weekend and I need my apartment hair-free.

 **Jumin Han:** Alright. I'll take a car to your place at 5.

 **Jumin Han:** Do you still want me to send my cleaning lady?

 **Jaehee Kang:** I never said I wanted that...

 **Jaehee Kang:** **So, no. Thank you. I prefer to do my own cleaning.**

 **Jumin Han:** Very well then. I'll see you later Assistant Kang.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Goodbye, Mr. Han.

 _[Jumin Han has left the chatroom.]_

 _[V has entered the chatroom.]_

 **Jaehee Kang:** V?

 **V:** Oh, Jaehee...Hello.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I didn't expect to see you here. Is there something wrong?

 **V:** Luciel told me there was another hack in the chatroom. So I came to read the messages.

 **V: ...mmm. This is disconcerting.**

 **Jaehee Kang:** I agree. I'm a bit unnerved by it too.

 **Jaehee Kang: Do you think the hacker that led Mi-Cha to the chatroom and SAPPeR are connected?**

 **V:** I don't think we should rule anything out.

 **V: But this concerns me… looking at the back logs, it doesn't look like Mi-Cha has been coming to the chatroom.**

 **V:** Is everything alright with her? Have any of you tried to contact her?

 **Jaehee Kang:** I know I have. But I think she's been ignoring us.

 **Jaehee Kang:** **V are you sure it was the best idea to let her join our organization?**

 **V:** I know my reasoning may seem short-sighted, but please bare with me Jaehee. I feel that Mi-Cha will make a great asset to the RFA and it's members.

 **V:** You should try to be a little more lenient. And remember that Mi-Cha is in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. If anything she's probably trying to cope with all the new changes.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Yes. You're right.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I think I've just been stressed with everything going on with work and the chatroom and Mi-Cha…

 **Jaehee Kang:** I guess I didn't really think about it from her perspective.

 **V:** Is everything ok with work? Is Jumin giving you a hard time?

 **Jaehee Kang:** ...No, it's not that.

 **Jaehee Kang:** It's just...I don't know

 **Jaehee Kang:** I thought that I'd be somewhere else in my life at this point. I didn't think I'd be scooping up kitty litter for my boss.

 **V:** You thought you would have accomplished more?

 **Jaehee Kang:** I guess…

 **Jaehee Kang: Do you ever feel that way? ...like you're not living up to your potential?**

 **V:** I have. More so in recent years.

 **V:** When I met Rika I thought that I had finally found it. She was always so altruistic and determined to help others that nothing could or would hold her back.

 **V:** And when she founded the RFA…

 **V: There was no doubt in my mind that she wouldn't be able to change the world with this organization.**

 **V:** But now that she's gone…

 **V: Well, I guess… I have questions.**

 **Jaehee Kang:** Are you regretting founding the RFA?

 **V:** No. That's one thing I don't regret.

 **V: But sometimes I wonder if people do more harm trying to be good or if they do more good trying to be bad?**

 **Jaehee Kang:** I'm not sure I follow. Isn't that a paradox?

 **Jaehee Kang:** To be bad is the opposite of good...

 **V:** Yes, you're right. It is.

 **V:** Anyways, I'm gonna let you get back to work…

 **V: I'll try to call Mi-Cha. I'm sure she's not aware of the second hack.**

 **Jaehee Kang: Try to join the chatroom more too, V.**

 **V:** I'll try…

 **V:** Remember everyone gets a little discouraged from time to time, so don't stress yourself out so much. You have time to meet your potential, Jaehee.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Thank you for the advice.

 **V:** Anytime. I'll be going now.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Ok. Bye.

 _[V has left the chatroom.]_

 _[Jaehee has left the chatroom.]_

* * *

Jaehee felt slightly better after her talk with V. "Everything will be fine," she said as if the simple fact of saying it aloud would make it true. She would believe in V. After all, he knew better than anyone what was best for the RFA. She picked up her coffee mug and brought it to her lips, ignoring that nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

' _Everything will be fine.'_ It had to be.

* * *

MinHee frowned as she checked her inbox for the twentieth time. She thought about her coworker in the next cubicle and unconsciously her eyes flickered to the wall and the beach-scapes calendar she had hanging there as if she could bore a hole through the wall and directly into Mi-Cha's skull. The other woman had been acting weird all day.

Granted. Mi-Cha was usually a little weird—But not that weird!

No, this was something else. She couldn't put her finger on it. But she was hesitant to believe that this change was because of the news about her mother. (Although, depressing it may be.) It was like she was a different person. She kept forgetting stuff like her keys or her passwords or what happened on Friday—How the hell could she forget what happened on Friday?

MinHee was still reeling from it. She couldn't get the image of kinda-best friend on her back in Ms. Gye's office while the latter had been giving her an oral review—Just, eww! NO.

She was so freaked out by what she saw that she couldn't even think about it without using these double-innuendos. What was Mi-Cha thinking? That's right she wasn't thinking. If she had she wouldn't have been playing tonsil-hockey with their boss. If it was anyone else, literally anyone else in the marketing, MinHee would not have had a problem with her coworker getting some nookie at work—she had gotten a couple quickies in a janitor's closet and had no shame in admitting it to anyone but the HR department—But this was their boss. Their boss. (Emphasis on the _Their._ )

This had the potential to end so badly and because MinHee was Mi-Cha's friend, she had little doubt that the hell-beast would try to ruin her too should things go nuclear. Ms. Gye had already responded very negatively to MinHee finding out giving her the task of responding to every customer complaint on the company's FB page. She had spent her weekend at the office and much to her annoyance had missed the release of the Bangtan Boys fan-photobooks and now would have to wait a month for the next batch to get printed.

MinHee sighed and checked the time in the corner of her screen. 6:15—Damn. It was only fifteen more minutes until the employees in marketing were allowed to go home. But fifteen minutes wasn't long enough to do much of anything. MinHee had finished her latest project and she could technically start on something for tomorrow, but with fifteen minutes it didn't seem worth it. So she tried to pass the time cleaning out her spam folder and sending a couple texts off to her not-labeling-things partner, David, asking if he wanted to grab drinks later.

* * *

 **David:** Where?

 **MinHee:** Cakeshoppe in Itaewon. I heard DJ Dr. is playing.

 **David:** Is 10:30 ok?

 **MinHee:** Sure.

* * *

She peaked her head over the divider. "Hey, Pak," she said causing the other woman to jump in her chair and click out of her current window. MinHee raised a brow at that. "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing." Mi-Cha flushed a little and glanced away. She looked guilty, but MinHee decided to let it go filing the incident under weird-shit-Pak's-done-today.

"...Anyways—You're coming with me to Cakeshoppe tonight," she said matter-of-factly.

"Cakeshoppe?"

"It's a nightclub in Itaewon. You know, you've been there before. It's where we went to see G-Dragon and T.O.P."

Mi-Cha nodded still looking a bit confused. "Right."

"I figured you could order takeout and get ready at my place—"

"I don't think…" She started to argue, however, MinHee cut her off.

"—Hey, no. You owe me, remember? Besides we need to talk about...y'know."

That seemed to convince her as whatever uncertainty she had seemed to vanish. "Alright then. When do you wanna leave?" She asked.

"We can leave now," MinHee told her. "I just gotta shut down my computer first."

"Okay."

Five minutes later, both women had packed up their stuff and were heading toward the elevator. They rode it down to the ground floor and hailed a cab to the Seongdong district where MinHee lived. The whole ride Mi-Cha was quietly watching the cityscape pass by out the window. MinHee studied her closely looking for something, anything, to tell her what was up. Except for a slight change in the other woman's posture, she couldn't tell anything.

MinHee's apartment was located near Wangsimni station across from a park. It was a quiet neighborhood as most of the residents were young couples with kids and retirees. She lived on the third floor in a spacious one-bedroom apartment with her chow-mix puppy, Miso. When the two women entered the 3-month-old pup was jumping at their ankles. Mi-Cha jumped back letting out a surprised gasp and maneuvering the take-out bags out of reach.

"You have a dog?"

MinHee nudged the pup with her foot as she shut the door. "Why do you sound so surprised? You saw her last week," she said.

"It's just she's a lot bigger…" Mi-Cha looked around taking in the room and bent down and went to scratch Miso behind her ear. "Hey, cutie," she smiled when the pup leaned into her touch and tried to lick her fingers. She had to pull the bags away after Miso got a whiff of the food and started to paw at the plastic.

"You can put the food in the kitchen," MinHee told her and scooped up the squirming Miso in her arms. At first, Mi-Cha seemed to be hesitant but after a moment she followed her down the short hallway to the kitchen.

MinHee's kitchen was more like a kitchenette than a kitchen. It had just enough room to be practical, but not enough that two people could move about it comfortably. So after depositing the food on the counter, Mi-Cha stood out of the way while MinHee fed Miso. "You wanna grab some plates?"

"...Okay…" Mi-Cha brushed past her to open up the spice cabinet.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting plates?"

"Plates are over there," and she pointed to a cabinet by the fridge.

"...Right."

' _Strange…'_ MinHee frowned before turning her attention back to her dog, cooing at her as she dumped food into her bowl. She tried to shake off the feeling that something felt off and turned and grabbed some utensils from a drawer by the dishwasher.

They picked up takeout at the small eatery where they served traditional Korean food. MinHee ordered Kimchi stew, stir-fried octopus, and a side of Japchae. Mi-Cha was busy divvying the food up and MinHee grabbed some bowls for the stew, walking over to her and setting them down on the counter. "Do you wanna eat at the table or on the couch?" She asked.

Mi-Cha shrugged. "Either one is fine."

"Alright, couch then." And picking up her share of the food, she went into the living room situating herself on the couch and placing her food on the small glass coffee table. Mi-Cha followed her and curled her feet up under her, turning her eyes hesitantly to her.

"...so...We should talk, right?"

"Right." MinHee agreed and turned her body so she was fully facing her friend. "I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I'm not a tactful person and I never have been, so don't get mad at me if I'm a bit harsh." Mi-Cha nodded. "I think it's probably the stupidest thing you've ever done—Now listen to me, Pak, okay. I know you've never been quite right since things ended between you and that girl, _whats-her-name_ , and I've been respectful of that. You need to mourn or whatever. And, I'm totally okay with you having a rebound—But c'mon, even you have to see how self-destructive this is. Ms. Gye? _Really?_ That woman is not a rebound. She's your boss, _Your Boss_ , and if this goes sideways as all of your relationships have done, then you could lose your job. _Hell, I could lose_ _ **my**_ _job._ I think you need to end things now, before they get any more complicated—"

"You're right," she said.

"—and I know you don't want to hear it, but— _Wait..._ I'm right?" MinHee blinked at her, surprised. She had thought that her friend would've put up more of a fight. Denial was a river in Egypt and Mi-Cha swam in that river daily, so for her to agree and not dig in her heels like she was prone to do was startling.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I don't know how I got here. I'm lost— _I know it._ But you're right, you're totally right. A relationship with my boss is… _It's too much_. I can't handle it. I just...can't." Mi-Cha's expression broke and she began sobbing big fat crocodile tears. "I'm— _hic—_ sorry. I-I-I j-just…"

MinHee leaned over and wrapped her arms around the other woman, consoling her like she would a small child. "It's okay…"She shushed, but doing so only seemed to make Mi-Cha cry harder. She was holding on to the blonde as if she were her only lifeline, as if she were the one thing keeping her tethered to earth. To think she was so upset about her mother…

After what felt like an hour, Mi-Cha's crying subsided to a few loud sniffles. MinHee had brought her back a box of tissues and Miso was laying with her head resting on Mi-Cha's thigh while she was stroking her fur with one hand and dabbing at her eyes with the other. "We don't have to go out tonight," MinHee told her. "If you'd rather stay in we can stay in. Talk, eat, watch crappy dramas…"

"No," the brunette shook her head. "I want to go. _I need to go._ I need to get out and away from my own head for a little bit and honestly, I really think I could use some alcohol right now."

MinHee let out a short laugh and nodded. "Me too. Alright, we'll go," she said finally reaching for their forgotten food. They had cooled now to room temperature and she picked up the bowls, frowning. "Food's cold. I'll just pop these in the microwave and then we can eat. Can't get drunk on an empty stomach is what my dad always said."

* * *

 _[Reset? Y/N]_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This chapter was a long, long time coming. I can't believe it's been over a year since I updated this fic. I'm really, really sorry. I've been trying to sort out some things irl and haven't had the motivation or energy to really write for the longest time. I can't promise when the next chapter is going to be out. (I figure I'll just end up missing that deadline again. The pitfall of being a procrastinator, I guess.) So be warned this might be the last update for a long, long while until my life is a bit more stable.


End file.
